Hunted Species
by Megara-Liancourt
Summary: G1 The Decepticons are far away from being the biggest threat in the Universe. They are among the preys, like everything on Earth. Chapter 35 : Interlude 2. The preparation of his bonding ceremony with Starscream doesn't prevent Megatron from plotting.
1. Ch 1: Threat

Hunted Species - The Decepticons are far away from being the biggest threat in the Universe. They are even among the hunted creatures, like everything on Earth.

The idea of this fiction came when I was watching "Independence Day". I guess it is not too difficult to imagine what could happen …

To be more precise, this fic is set after the season 2, but I am going to ignore completely the events of the movie and the following seasons or series. I might make some OOC in next chapters as well.

Transformers G1 are copyright Hasbro and Co., I own none of the characters of TF G1 (unfortunately), only the original characters that I might introduce, and the plot of the story.

* * *

**Hunted Species - Chapter 1: Threat**

**Earth, underwater Decepticon base, 2005**

The Decepticon Communication Officer bent forward to have a better look at the green light glittering on the top right-hand corner of the screen. _The signature of an aircraft, maybe?_ The area was not the favorite air traffic lane of the flesh pilots as wind was too strong and tricky, but some aircraft sometimes ventured flying over the base. The most interesting characteristics were the size of the issuer of the signal and the speed it was heading for the Decepticon headquarter. It had to be big and fast. Soundwave checked again the position on the screen and saw that the spot had already moved from the top to almost its middle.

Without warning, the screen flickered uncontrollably. Now, sure, the situation was not as usual as it should be. Soundwave stood up from his seat and without hesitation connected to Megatron's quarters through the emergency network.

"Sir, something is heading for the headquarter," he calmly explained, knowing that Megatron didn't like being called when he was resting in private. As expected, a growl first welcomed his explanations.

"And what the slag is this something?"

Soundwave looked back at the screen, which was now flickering as if somebody was playing with the switch.

"I don't know, Sir, but it's big… and fast."

O

Half a cycle later, all the communication systems of the Decepticon underwater base were inoperative. Annoyed and grumpy, Megatron stormed into the command room, sweeping his red optics over the place in search of his third in command.

"Can you explain me what it's going on here!" he yelled at Soundwave, who was carefully checking the settings of his computer.

"Negative… No answer can be given. Reason: origin of the communication breakdown still unknown. The emergency network crashed down as well. Something took control of the communication devices. No effect on Transformers reported."

"I know there is no effect on us!" Megatron snarled, irritated to the most. He had just heard the door of the Control Room open, followed by very familiar footsteps.

"What's happening, Oh mighty Megatron?" asked a screechy and almost female voice, sending unpleasant radio waves through the audio receptors of the Decepticon leader. "It looks like your communication network has given out."

Megatron looked dagger at his Air Commander, as if he wanted to shoot him on the spot by the simple glare of his optics.

"As far as I know, Starscream, this is the Communication System of OUR base that has broken down, not mine in particular!" he retorted angrily.

Starscream smirked and was to repost something nasty to his leader when a rumbling very similar to the thunder distracted him from his favorite task of spitting venomous comments.

"What is that, now?" he muttered, being more and more upset.

The noise grew louder and louder, soon followed by a wave very much comparable to the shockwave of an earthquake. The three mechs tensed up when they felt it was growing in intensity.

"That's too long for an earthquake!" Megatron noticed.

"It must be the thing that I've detected on the radar thirty Earth minutes ago!" Soundwave commented.

"What thing, at the end?"

Megatron had to shout to cover the rumbling. The whole structure of the room vibrated strongly, forcing the mechs to grip computers and desks to avoid tumbling to the ground. Starscream threw a horrified look at Megatron when one of the computer screens crashed at his feet in a spray of metal and glass.

Then it stopped without notice. The three mechs didn't move during few kliks, almost shocked by the silence that had settled after this taste of the end of the world.

"What… what was that?" Starscream whined. He stood up slowly, his wings quivering nervously.

"Don't know… System still down," Soundwave replied, quickly checking the nearest computer. "Visual and audio systems down as well."

"Not surprising. That was not functioning before this earthquake…" Megatron pointed out. His anger had somehow vanished since he had to catch one of the consoles to keep his balance. The wave had been strong, long, and harrowing, leaving him rather worried.

"I am not waiting here a new earthquake, or whatever it was!" Starscream declared, his voice trembling, "I am going to check what's going on out here!"

He was to storm out of the control room when night hands caught firmly one of his wrists.

"You're not going anywhere, little idiot!" Megatron warned, "We don't know what's "out here", as you say!"

Starscream tried to free himself from the iron grip of his leader, to no avail. Megatron shot him a glare clearly stating he wouldn't accept any further sign of contradiction. The Seeker stood still, a glimpse of fear tainting his optics.

"Don't tell me you're afraid I get injured or killed… I didn't know you did care of my security!" he hissed.

Megatron smirked, amused by the reply of his Seeker.

"Not the slightest! However, I know you… You can't get in trouble without making the whole Decepticon army enjoy the results of your foolish behavior!"

Starscream tensed up and glared at Soundwave, silent witness of this new squabble.

O

"Go back to your duties! We don't need ten warriors having a look outside!" Megatron yelled, a little annoyed to see that his men were showing signs of panics. The fliers were the most aggravated, which didn't surprise him much. As creatures of the sky, they were prone to a kind of claustrophobia under the sea. The most unpredictable subject was certainly Starscream and Megatron already detected signs of extreme nervousness in the behavior of the Air Commander. His face was expressing ten feelings at the same time, ranging from surprise to fear. Megatron couldn't help thinking he had been right to trail the little Seeker behind him. If he was to blow a circuit or throw a tantrum, it would be better that the Decepticon leader was there to shut him up.

"Bring me this drone!" Megatron ordered Skywarp, pointing his finger at the robot.

The black and purple Seeker obediently pushed the small bot in the cabin of the lift, which stopped next to the Decepticon leader.

"Don't stay around! I don't know what can happen," Megatron warned before closing the door. He glanced at Starscream when the Seeker welcomed the move of the cabin by a nervous sigh. "And now, Starscream, try to keep your self-control. Something tells me we might dislike what is "out here"… No real time for your usual circuit dysfunctions!"

The Air Commander shot him a murderous look and muttered "Yes, leader!" through gritted teethes.

O

Few kliks later, the doors hissed open on the departure ramp. Megatron pushed Starscream out of his way, beckoning him to stay carefully hidden behind the doors of the lift. Leaning on the doorframe, he scanned the ocean and the sky. He immediately understood what was wrong; the gray and black metal of a gigantic spaceship replaced the blue of the sky, no longer in sight.

"Have you seen that!?" Starscream squealed. He left the darkness of the lift and stepped on the threshold, staring, bewildered, at the incredible scene.

"Step back and don't show yourself, you fool!" Megatron barked, catching Starscream by a shoulder and shoving him back to the cover of the lift, "You want to be shot and have me shot on the same process?!"

This time, Starscream was too shocked, both by the presence of the gigantic ship and the reaction of his leader, to protest or say anything. Megatron was right: no one could say for what reason this ship was stationing above their base.

_'And by the way, how did this ship managed to find the exact location of the base?'_ Megatron wondered, more and more worried. "Send the drone, and let see what happens!" he shrieked to Starscream.

Without a word, the flier pushed the small bot outside the lift, taking care of staying hidden behind the doors. The drone scurried to the edge of the ramp and then took flight; with the help of the wind, it quickly climbed in the sky. At 300 meters above sea level, it was only a small green spot marring the black and mechanical background.

Then, it disappeared in a swirl of smokes and shards of metal, making a small "bang" as it exploded.

"There's… a shield around the ship!" Starscream stuttered, visibly shocked.

Megatron looked at him and easily read fear in the optics of his second in command. What surprised him was the intensity of this feeling, at least as powerful as the terror he could feel when he was getting angry against the Seeker. He couldn't blame him: the situation was freaking, even for him.

"We've seen enough for now! It's useless to make us spotted by our visitors," he stated as calmly as possible, pressing the switch of the lift. The doors closed at the same pace that it had opened and Megatron gave out a sigh of relief.

This feeling didn't last long.

_'I guess that "our visitors" didn't choose to station just above our base by chance. They know we're here... Besides, they didn't shut down our communication system without a reason. I don't like that at all'!_

O

"How can you ask me to stay calm?" Starscream burst out, jumping outside the lift, "You've seen this ship like me! It measures at least thirty kilometers in circumference! Maybe more! I've… I've never seen that before! NEVER!"

"Shut up, Starscream!" answered Megatron, more bored than threatening.

"And it has a shield! You've seen it also! I'm sure it can destroy anything!"

"I said… Shut up, Starscream!"

Now, Megatron was threatening, but the Seeker alongside him was too aggravated to take notice of the change in the voice of his leader.

"Oh mighty one, I repeat: we have a spaceship stationed above our base, which shut down all our communication systems for whatever reasons and the only thing you can say, it's "SHUT UP"!"

Megatron decided it was time to lose his temper; he had been dealing with Starscream for a long time and knew very well that only threat could shut up his vocal processor when the Seeker got angry or panicked. His hand snapped around the neck of the Seeker in a split second and squeezed it as strong as he could. The flier gave out a strangled cry and seized the silver wrist as he was lifted from the ground.

"Now, listen, you little stupid and emotional Seeker. Stop whining, yelling, and if possible, speaking! I don't want you to spread panic in our ranks… Got it?" Megatron threatened.

Starscream nodded as well as he could, his neck being now painfully squeezed by the titanium grip.

"Excellent."

The pressure around the obsidian neck loosened and then faded. Starscream's body shivered as he massaged the painful area and then almost collapsed to his knees. This time, Megatron had really put all his strength and Starscream feared that some sensors governing his balance had been crushed. A black hand gripped his arm, preventing him from falling, and lifted him up to restore his balance.

"Don't forget, Starscream. Keep your self-control, and I will keep mine".

O

Megatron walked hastily on the deserted hallway, followed by Starscream, still unsteady on his feet, who struggled to follow the quick pace of his leader. All the Decepticons had followed the order of their Supreme Commander, staying away from the access ramp. The silence was ruling in this place, usually extremely noisy due to the comings and goings of the soldiers and freights. At this hour of the day, there were always energon convoys carried from the arrival docks to the storage rooms, or raw materials on the way to repair bays. Since Megatron had decided to be subtler and more discreet in his raids, conflicts with Autobots had been fewer and fewer, while energy and materials collection had been more and more successful. Although the Earth base numbered fewer warriors than at the time of their reactivation, twenty Earth years before, it had become a true hive of activity.

However, at the time being, Megatron was very far away from thinking about the usual daily life of his base and the past successes of his army. The vision of the gigantic ship was clouding his mind and a disturbing feeling of insecurity gnawed at him.

_'You, the fearless leader of the Decepticon, you're afraid without knowing exactly why!'_ he reproached himself. He peeped at Starscream over his shoulder; the Seeker was walking on his heels silently, but his face was still displaying concern and fear.

_'Not good… It has been a so long time I haven't seen in that state of mind… He's panicking.' _

Arrived at the door of the Command Room, the silver leader stopped, considering that he should regain some composure before coming in. The account of what they had seen would be shocking enough: no need to add any feeling of panic by displaying his concerns.

"Leader?" asked Starscream.

His voice was almost inaudible.

"Let's go! Beware… I don't want to hear you speak!" Megatron stated without looking at him. _'Primus, the fear of Starscream is almost contagious'_

O

All the red optics shifted to the main door, which slid open on the first and second in command of the Decepticon army. Megatron looked strangely cold and Starscream frankly nervous if not afraid. The mechs tensed up as they guessed that the explanations regarding the earthquake-like phenomena wouldn't be that funny to listen to.

"Megatron?" Soundwave asked from the far corner of the room, while working at the mainframe of the emergency communication system computer.

The silver robot swept his audience with blazing red optics.

"The Earthquake that shook this base almost one Earth hour ago was not exactly what we assumed it was," he croaked, "Starscream and I discovered that a ship is currently stationed above our base, almost five hundred meters above sea level. The wave might have been caused by the power of its engines…"

As Megatron expected, the announcement caused a buzz of surprise spreading among his troops.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Leader," Thundercracker objected, "But what kind of engines can create such a tidal wave? We are some hundred meters beneath the sea surface! It must be huge! Weirdly huge_—_"

"Almost thirty kilometers in circumference… We couldn't see how high it is, though." Nobody made comments on this information and silence settled, deadly as the grave. "What's new with the communication system, Soundwave?" asked Megatron, noticing the change in the atmosphere.

"For outbound and inbound communications with the base, the system is down. Inside the base: there are some few areas where it is still operational… It looks like it had been blocked by something, but I can't identify what. It can be a virus or interferences, difficult to say. Anyway, it doesn't affect our embedded personal communication devices to function."

If Megatron had eyebrows, he would have given a frown.

"You mean we can communicate using our embedded call system?"

"Yes, but only inside the base… The communication is impossible outside," explained Soundwave, "I tried to contact Astrotrain and Blitzwing, using my embedded communicator, without success."

This time, Megatron frowned: was it uncertainty that he had just heard in the voice of his usually emotionless Communication Officer? He didn't have the time to analyze the voice frequency, disturbed by the sigh of the now very worried Starscream, who became instantly the center of convergence of all glances.

"I don't like that!" he snapped, "We have to leave the base!"

"Nobody is leaving the base right now, Starscream!" Megatron answered as coldly as he could.

"Oh! Why not, Mighty leader?"

Megatron couldn't suppress a smirk. _'No, Starscream, don't push me so far… Don't make me strangle you to prevent you from spreading panic here!'_ he thought, knowing already that his second in command was on the edge of throwing a tantrum.

"Forgot about the shield, Seeker?" he answered mockingly, "Nobody knows what area it really covers!"

Starscream recoiled to the wall, as soon as he saw the frightening light in the optics of his Commander. Megatron couldn't help smiling: his silent but supreme warning, saying _'I've told you… Now, knock it off if you don't want to be knocked down!'_ had reached the target.

"A shield?" whispered Thundercracker, aware of the growing tension.

"A shield, yes… It looks like there is a power shield protecting the ship, which destroys mechanical or electronic devices that enter in contact with," Megatron explained. "It blew up the drone we sent in reconnaissance. Altitude: around three hundred meters above sea level." A quick glance on his right and he noticed that Soundwave was now listening very carefully to his words, although his face expressed no particular feelings. "Something in mind, Soundwave?" he asked, eager to hear the output of an expert.

Unexpectedly, the dark blue robot took some time to reply, looking deep in his thoughts during several minutes.

"You're right, Megatron… We should send another drone to check if the shield covers a wider area or is confined around the ship."

The silver leader growled as sign of agreement, hiding his slight relief to have someone on board able to suggest pragmatic actions in this critical situation.

"Skywarp! Thundercraker!" he shouted at the two Seekers, "Bring two drones outside. Have them fly to the edge of the ship. One, altitude fifty meters, the other one, a hundred and fifty meters. Let's see what happens!"

"At your command, leader!"

The two fliers looked at each other, unable to hide how much this order embarrassed them.

**To be continued…**

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Text modified on July 20, 2009.


	2. Ch 2: Armageddon

**Hunted Species - Chapter 2: Armageddon**

**Underwater Decepticon base**

Main departure ramp

"TC… What do you see?" asked the black and purple Seeker, standing on his tiptoe to look over his wing mate's shoulder vents.

Thundercraker easily understood that Skywarp was reluctant to have a look outside. He was not so sure that he wanted to see the origin of such a ruckus in the base. Recollecting he was here at the command of Megatron - and that he would suffer a lot if he didn't follow the orders - he slipped his head outside the door frame. A ray of sunshine dazzled him, and he couldn't help offlining his optics during a few kliks. The sun was going down, lightening the sea in a subtle variation from gold yellow to volcano red, like all the days at the same hour. Looking around, he quickly realized that something was utterly wrong. There was no reflection of the tower on the mirror of the sea and the beautiful colors of the sunset were put in the far background. He raised his head and stared at the wide surface of the mysterious ship.

"Primus… It's so big!" he whispered in a mix of surprise and fear, "So weirdly big!"

"What?"

Skywarp left the shadows of the lift to have a better look at the ship. He was quite familiar with the adjective "weird", which usually rewarded his pranks, but this time, it took a totally different meaning for him. He couldn't prevent surprise having a certain effect on his jaw, which slightly gapped open.

"What's that? Autobot destroyer?" he asked.

"No, it can't be… Where would have they found the technology or the materials, and build that ship under our very nose? It must be alien to Cybertron and this world!" Thundercracker replied, nodding to his own words.

"Well, let's make the test and come back to base… This thing just scares me witless out of me!" Skywarp muttered.

He grabbed one of the drones and pushed it to the edge of the cabin. His blue wing mate did the same with the second one and released it after a last check of the settings. The two small bots took off, engines buzzing softly. One took slowly altitude while the other ascended more quickly. The two robots flew away from the departure ramp, soon separated of almost hundred meters from each other.

The two Seekers kept their optics locked on the two small shapes, not daring saying a word. It took several minutes for the drones to reach the shadow of the ship.

"Go! Go!" Skywarp muttered in support for the two small machines.

It unfortunately didn't help them. The drone that was the highest in the sky disintegrated with a metallic noise and a blinding light, soon followed by his comrade, hundred meters bellow him. Their remains fell in the sea like the lights of a firework. That was enough for Skywarp and Thundercraker to feel their energon running cold.

"TC… Let's go back! Quickly!" whined Skywarp.

"Wha- What?" asked Thundercraker under the shock of what he had just witnessed.

He somehow came back to reality as Skywarp grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him like a rag doll.

"We have to go back to the base! This ramp overhangs fifty meters above the sea… One of the drones has been destroyed at around hundred meters! Primus, the shield might be just some meters above our heads!"

The blue Seeker stared incredulously at his wing mate while his mind slowly accepted the reality of their situation. Then fear swept over his gaze, and he jumped on the control panel of the ramp, setting it to come back down the base.

Nothing. No move. Neither the door closed nor the tower sank into the dark water.

"It doesn't work... anymore!" gasped Thundercracker, an icy shiver spreading over his circuits.

"You're joking! Let me do it!"

Skywarp started to type frantically on the keyboard, to no avail. He looked up at Thundercracker and was to fully express the panic that was now spreading at the speed of the light in his mind when a whistling noise reached his audio processors. It was like the whistling of a jet's engine during take off. The two Seekers turned their gazes toward the doorframe and saw with fright that the massive metallic form was moving. To be precise, it was flying down the surface of the ocean. The whole surface of the ship was suddenly alive with mechanical life, some of his panels shifting and opening onto wide ramps, launch pads and heavy cannon turrets.

"Enough! I've seen enough!" yelled Skywarp in utter panic.

He caught Thundercracker by the wrists and without asking him if he agreed or not, he teleported inside the base.

* * *

**Command Room of the Nemesis**

"We are trapped… The shield is all around, and it's grounding on us!" Skywarp whined, looking successively at Megatron, Soundwave and Starscream.

The knees of the Air Commander buckled and his face fell. Starscream was to vocalize loudly his panic when Megatron's fist smashed the armrest of his throne.

"Hold your self-control!" the warlord shouted. "And stop whining, that's enough of Starscream!"

"You've got a nerve, Megatron!" yelled the Air Commander, half-vexed, half-panicked. "Nevertheless, you are as powerless as us, and you don't have the slightest idea of what to do to escape!"

Starscream jerked away when he saw Megatron standing up from his bulky throne and aiming at him with his fusion cannon. Unfortunately, he was not fast enough: shot in the shoulder, he slammed into the wall behind and fell on the ground with a metallic noise. The Seeker didn't try to stand up and he curled-up against the wall, moaning plaintively.

"Get on your feet, Starscream! I didn't shoot you with so much power!" Megatron scoffed. "Take this as a warning… The only one that I'm willing to give you!"

Starscream raised his head, not daring say a word or complain about the pain that was burning his shoulder. He stood up slowly, his whole body shaking under the shock and the fright inspired by Megatron.

"Excellent," the Commander chuckled as he turned to Soundwave. "First, order to the Constructicons to seal the access to the launch pad and its tower. I want it done without delay!"

All mechs looked down. Megatron was used to employ the term "without delay" only when he was upset or facing a critical situation. He was particularly irritable, if not dangerous, at that time.

"At your command, Megatron!"

"Secondly, we need to assess if the shield surrenders us, or if they are some possibilities to leave the place by keeping underwater. Prepare some missiles and launch them on the direction of the rift… We'll see whether they are stopped or not."

"Don't you think the ship will take it as an attack?" asked Soundwave, "There might be reprisals!"

"That's a risk we have to take… I don't intend to stay here and wait until this thing attacks us!" Megatron retorted.

At his dismay, his voice couldn't hide perfectly what he was feeling at that time. In a way, Starscream was right: he had no idea of the intention of the mysterious ship or had a clue on a way to escape.

O

Two panels slid slowly open on the surface of the Decepticon base, some meters above the huge window bay of the Command Room. Two missiles left their pads in a blinding light, heading at full speed to the depths of the silent ocean, leaving just a trail of foam behind.

All the glances were set on the two missiles. As the cameras outside the base were completely down, the mechs had no other solutions but to look through the thick glass of the cockpit and try to follow the high-speed weapons. An exercise that Starscream and his two fellow Seekers were well accustomed to, regularly dealing with missiles during aerial battles.

The Air Commander was fully busy with the observation of the two offensive weapons and the calculation of the distance to the supposed edge of the shield. It took his mind away from the earlier incident with Megatron and a part of his resent was somehow gone. Not completely, however…

"Starscream! What's the distance before the potential impact?" Megatron asked, his deep and strong voice sending unpleasant shivers through the second in command's body.

_'Slag you, tyrant!' _

O

Very well aware that he wouldn't be able to visually follow the course of the two missiles, Megatron sat on his throne, waiting for the report of Starscream with as much patience as he could muster. He was certainly not in the mood to put up with the ironic comments of the Seeker. Fortunately for his wings, the flyer was now completely lost in his observation and didn't look back at him.

"6.2 miles, Mighty leader," Starscream finally answered in his casual mocking tone.

Megatron managed a growl but didn't say a word. None of the other mechs dared a comment, some being too concerned by what was happening outside the base, the others too afraid of a sudden outburst from Megatron.

"5 miles!" Starscream announced.

The Decepticon leader felt his body tense up, and he couldn't help grasping the armrests of his throne, pressing his fingers against the metal.

"3 miles..."

Megatron dug his fingers into the smooth metal, but he didn't' realize it or took care of the pain blossoming in his fingertips.

"1 mile…"

Soundwave sat down to his now useless communication command board, staring at the glass, as if he wanted to pierce it by the force of his optics. Not far away from him, Rumble and Frenzy were utterly silent.

"0 mile… On target!"

Skywarp and Thundercracker moved back from the window, leaving Starscream on first line.

"Starscream! Report me on the results!" Megatron urged.

The Air Commander kept silent during a few seconds.

"Starscream, you idiot! Report!"

The Seeker turned around and offered an almost smiling face to his commander.

"Nothing… The two missiles didn't explode! It looks like the shield doesn't go underwater!"

Megatron couldn't suppress a sigh of relief, soon imitated by some of the other robots present in the cockpit.

"Excellent! Soundwave, prepare the Nemesis II… We will board it and move away temporarily from this base!"

**

* * *

The Ark, base of the Autobots**

Optimus Prime looked thoughtfully at the gigantic spaceship stationed some hundred meters above the Autobot base. It had appeared two hours ago, its powerful engines causing a real earthquake in the Ark, which had thrown all the Autobots and their electronic devices to the ground. Then it had settled there, staying motionless until five minutes ago. The engines were now buzzing and all the outward panels of the ship were moving and sliding, preparing to something.

'_What? Landing… Invasion?'_ Optimus wondered.

The Autobot leader turned to see Wheeljack walking to him, looking deeply worried.

"Optimus!"

"Wheeljack, have you found why our communication system is not functioning anymore?"

The Autobot engineer shook his head negatively.

"No… It's certainly linked to the arrival of this spaceship, but we couldn't find out what's happening… Anyway, the Aerialbots came back from their patrol and told me that the same kind of spaceships has appeared on the sky of the main cities of the East Coast, and probably on many other areas. Do you believe it's a new trick of Megatron?"

"No…"Optimus Prime shifted his gaze to the ship. He didn't know why but he was sure of his answer and of the bad premonition that squashed his spark. "Wheeljack, order the evacuation of the Ark… Immediately! Something wrong is going to happen!" he ordered.

**

* * *

Underwater base of the Decepticons**

Hallways outside the Command Room

"Why wasn't I in the secret of the Nemesis II?" Starscream shouted, indignation burning in his optics like fire.

Megatron looked down at his Air Commander and grinned.

"Because you don't need to know everything, Seeker!"

More and more infuriated, Starscream kicked the nearest console in protest and walked back to Megatron, anger painted on his features.

"I need to know everything because I am your second in command! I am fed up being always put aside by you because you're jealous of my potential as leader of the Decepticons! Besides-"

The words of Starscream died in his metallic throat as Megatron squeezed it mercilessly.

"I believed you were done with this… It has been almost ten Earth years that I haven't seen you in such a fury!" the silver commander growled. "What's the matter? Why today? Is the coming of our visitors too much pressure for your little circuits? Or do you consider it as an opportunity to take over… AGAIN?"

His second in command managed to push him back and stared at him with an indignant look.

"Betrayal? How can you accuse me of betrayal? I've been loyal to you during those past ten years, but you never trust me! The one who is betraying the other, it is you… and nobody else!" Starscream retorted. He walked away from Megatron and punched the wall in anger. "Really... I'd like to know why you appointed me as your second in command!" he yelled, "Was it to satisfy your twisted mind by humiliating me every day?"

"Silence now!" Megatron growled, "It's not the time for squabbles. We have already a big enough crisis here! No time to consider your uncertainties!"

A ray of blue light hit the ground only inches from Megatron right foot. 'Null-rays…' he chuckled to himself, but didn't even move.

"Stop telling me to shut up! Stop discrediting me in front of the others!" Starscream screamed, losing his temper. "And… By the way, I have a name! Stop calling me "Seeker"!"

Once again, Megatron replied by a mocking smile.

"You're childish enough to discredit yourself… and you do it so well… SEEKER!"

Saying these words, he turned around to make his way out, knowing already what Starscream's next move would be: aiming at his back with his null-rays. It was exactly the point of no return he wanted to reach by cruelly teasing the flyer. He needed to vent the tension built-up since the beginning of this crisis. And most of all, he wanted Starscream to shut up and stop questioning his authority.

Fast like the light, he jumped aside, dodging the damageable ray, turned around, and fired at his Air Commander. The blast was more powerful than the first shot in the Command Room and caught the jet's torso. Glasses from his shattered canopy fell to the ground like golden snow. Starscream gave out a cry of pain as he collapsed to a heap, face first.

An expression of amused disdain appeared on the face of Megatron as he walked without hurry to the battered form of his lieutenant. However, deep inside, he was astonished by the stubbornness of Starscream. The Seeker had been so often knocked down on account of his behavior, he should know better than challenging him. It seemed that it was stronger than Starscream; he was trapped in this way-of-acting, and was heading for disaster as a butterfly is drawn by the light of fire. 'To his destruction…' the silver mech reflected.

He picked up the body, supporting the relatively light weight with one hand, holding the jet as a human child would hold a doll. He looked up and saw that the two wing mates of Starscream, Skywarp and Thundercracker, were staring at him with fright. _'And what… Disgust? Hatred?'_

"Don't look at me with such a blank stare! We don't have time to lose here! Go to Nemesis II or I leave you behind, like I should leave your unworthy Air Commander here!"

The two Seekers evacuated the place hastily, without a word.

Megatron smirked slightly. His credit had substantially dropped with this order to retreat in front an invisible enemy and without battle. Anyway, his threatening tone and his harsh words were still efficient. That was a small comfort in comparison to the frustration of calling for retreat without an attack against the mysterious ship. He wanted so much to tear its occupants apart just to make them understand that nobody threats Megatron, the mighty Decepticon leader, without ending blasted!

_'Like you…'_ he thought, looking down at the unconscious Seeker.

O

Command room of the Nemesis II

Megatron dropped the unconscious Air Commander at his usual seat. All the Decepticons present in the cockpit looked discreetly at Starscream and at his open chest. Nobody asked how his canopy had gone; they all knew. They came back quickly to their own preoccupations, not daring a look at their supreme leader who was back to his supreme command throne.

"Soundwave! Is everything ready?" Megatron asked with irritation.

"Yes Sir! All Decepticons present at the base are on board. The drones are outside, ready to guide us in the absence of our visual systems."

"Excellent! Blast off!" the silver leader ordered.

Soundwave nodded silently, then turned to his console and engaged the takeoff procedure. The light inside the cockpit gradually decreased while the sound of the four engines of the ship increased at the same pace. The ship started moving slowly on the dark water of the abyss.

"On the right… 3 degrees… Slowly… Slowly…" Thundercracker advised, watching carefully the moves of the five drones and the indications on the way to follow and the obstacles to avoid.

The massive metal body shifted gently with a metallic creaking.

"Good! Skywarp, your turn!"

"Okay, now, on the-"

A violent shock covered the voice of the black and purple Seeker and shook the Nemesis II even more strongly than the first shockwave had rattled the base few hours ago. The ship went to nosedive and crashed to the oceanic ground in a storm of mud and seaweeds. The Decepticon leader griped strongly the armrests of his throne to avoid flying to the ground. Soundwave was clinging as best as he could to his seat. Thundercracker and Skywarp were literally flat on their console, while, not far away, the three Coneheads were doing their best to grip what they could on the walls. Still unconscious, Starscream fell from his seat and would have landed on the front console if Soundwave hadn't caught him by the wrist and lifted him up to his own seat.

"Skywarp! What have you done?" growled Megatron, furious "You fool! You think we can we can afford to lose this ship with us inside!"

"It's not me!" the flyer whined, completely afraid by both the idea of the ship sinking and Megatron shooting him to death.

"So what is this!?" roared the Decepticon leader.

Flaming orange dancing through the main window answered his question: outside, the drones were exploding one after one, leaving shapeless piles of metal.

"Megatron! We are under attack!" Soundwave warned, still holding Starscream.

The Decepticon leader stared at the window, still reflecting the aftermath of the explosions, and felt a wave of rage blowing his circuits.

"Decepticons! Prepare for battle!" Megatron ordered, abandoning his throne.

He activated his anti-gravitation system and hovered over the equipments of the cockpit, beckoning his warriors to do the same. One by one, the Decepticons rose and joined their leader in the air.

Megatron checked rapidly the settings of his cannon and pointed it on the direction of the window, sending Skywarp and Thundercracker fly away from it. He then had a look to Starscream, still unconscious on the grasp of Soundwave.

"Wake him up! He has to fight like everybody here!" he ordered.

O

Soundwave obediently nodded to his leader, although he doubted that Starscream was fit for battle.

_'Anyway…As long as he can shoot...'_

The Nemesis II was blind, under attack and the whole Decepticon crew would need everybody to face the mysterious enemy who had just put upside down their ship. Moreover, Megatron was pissed off and questioning his orders would come down to a one-way ticket to hell. He shook slightly the jet that he held against him. Unsuccessful, he then sent him electric shocks to stimulate his circuits.

The optics of the Seeker flickered after some electrical discharges.

O

"What… happened?" Starscream whispered weakly, before realizing that he was on the grasp of his not very well appreciated rival. He pushed himself away, staring defiantly at Soundwave. "What happened!" he repeated menacingly.

Soundwave was to answer when Megatron grasped Starscream by a shoulder and turned him around, forcing the flyer to face him. The gaze of the jet fell on the weapon embedded in the silver arm, remembering their earlier fight and the pain caused by the blast of the fusion cannon. He looked down at his torso and saw that his canopy was gone and his inner circuitry indecently exposed.

"I remember! You… beat me… You shot me!" Starscream roared, glaring back at Megatron.

"Shut your vocal processor off and be ready to fight, moron!" the Decepticon leader snapped back, "We're under attack!"

"What?"

Starscream froze, his cloudy mind taking now full understanding of the situation. He looked around him and saw that the cockpit and everything inside were vertical to the bottom of the ocean: the ship had done a serious nosedive while he was unconscious. Moreover, the faces of his fellow Decepticons bore so many concerns, if not fear, that a wave of fright shook his body.

"Yes… Leader," he agreed, pointing his null-rays at the same direction as Megatron.

Somehow, he regretted having been brought back online.

O

A metallic creaking made all the cybernetic glances turned to the ceiling, vertical to them. A second creaking echoed from the same area, soon followed by others. It was exactly like if something heavy was walking or creeping along the cabin.

"Be ready… I guess we won't have to wait long to know what they want!" Megatron muttered, keeping his fusion cannon pointing at the wall.

Nobody replied to his comments. Starscream kept also his null rays aiming at the gray surface, imitated by Soundwave, who had his own weapons ready. Thundercracker and Skywarp were back to back and had taken their shoulder cannons in hands, trying to cover the most space as possible. The three Coneheads were now standing in line, following their usual defense patterns. The cockpit was as silent as the grave as if time had been stopped and the mechanical beings transformed into stone statues or suddenly deprived of life.

Then, the Armageddon happened…

There was a new creaking, stronger than any others, and the whole structure of the ship cracked as if it was to implode. The wall was ripped apart and water swept in the cockpit, crushing everything on his way. Megatron saw the two Seekers sent backward like leaves blown by the wind and realized he would suffer the same fate if he didn't move. He tried to avoid the wave but soon found his body entangled in the terrible water spirals, and was thrown to the wall behind him. Crushed against the metallic surface, he felt overwhelmed by a so intense pain that he almost blacked out. Struggling to reboot his motor system and get rid of the blackness surrounding him, he managed to get his optics back on line.

What he saw was just pure hell…

The body of Thundercracker was floating close to the front console, a deep gash crossing his chest from a shoulder to the waist. Skywarp was not far away from him, battling desperately against a black robot. The aggressor was almost the same size as the Seeker and was carrying heavy weaponry; some kinds of swords and axes were hung on his back, and he had two heavy cannons at hands. Skywarp was not the only struggling for life; Soundwave was fighting hand-to-hand as fiercely as he could although his left shoulder was practically ripped out. The three Coneheads were completely out of sight. A new wave of water sent sands swirling in the cockpit, hiding the two scenes to his optics and showing another. Starscream was pinned against the nearest console under another black robot that was holding a massive sword. The gray blade was plunged to the hilt in his chest. Starscream's head jerked back and Megatron could see life slowly going away from his optics. Coming back to his senses, he calibrated his cannon and fired at the aggressor. The shot hit the black robot on the face and upper-torso but to his dismay, it veered on the left, ending in a control panel.

'A shield! They have also a shield!' he realized, feeling fear definitely take the upper hand on him. At lost with what to do, he kept firing at the black robot, which was now floating around him, his blade back to his hand, glaring at him with his big red optics. Megatron then understood he was the next prey and braced himself for battle. A few meters away, the robot disappeared behind a new swirl caused by the explosions.

The bloody red optics appeared few inches from his face. Megatron's cannon was torn out with incredible brute force and a part of the internal circuitry of his arm removed on the same time. He let out a scream of pain, which died out as the sharp blade cut his chest armor and dived in his body, burning him inside.

He fell into the darkness…

**To be continued**…

* * *

Text edited on July 20, 2009.


	3. Ch 3: Welcome back to Hell 1

**Chapter 3: Welcome back to Hell (1) - Return of a King**

**AD 2025, Nemesis II Shipwreck area**

The heavy carcass of the Nemesis II emerged from the abyss in a breaking of water, foam and seaweeds, rear engines first, the command cockpit last. The cables of the Rescue I and Rescue II ships creaked under the pressure and the two vessels danced slowly on the wave created by the total emersion of the scattered Decepticon spaceship.

"Raising complete!" announced Hook, and he sighed. "I've never thought I would see it again!"

All the Cybertronians present on both decks gathered closer to the wreck, some of them looking thoughtfully to the water fleeing from the cracks, some others discussing in a low voice about what they would find inside. Their leader, standing on the upper deck of the Rescue I, walked to the former Decepticon who had announced the success of the operation.

"Good job, Hook! Without you, we would have never been able to identify the position of the wreck and carry on the raising," Optimus Prime congratulated.

The green bot nodded discreetly, optics full of thoughts.

"Difficult to forget the attack this spaceship had to face and the slaughter that had followed."

"Hum! Yes… Well, I guess so."

Optimus Prime felt the Constructicon had no intention of sharing his memories about the attack of the Nemesis II. He was one of the three Cons who had managed to escape the slaughter of the whole Decepticon army on Earth. All the others, including Megatron, were presumed deactivated, their bodies lost in the wreck of the spaceship, which had become their grave. The Cybertronian leader leaned forward to the ship's rail, watching with attention the front area. According to the statements of the three survivors, the attack had been launched first on the cockpit and had spread to the other compartments.

Familiar footsteps distracted him from his observation. He knew very well who it was and what the discussion would be about.

"Are you sure of what you're going to do, Optimus?" asked Rodimus Prime, arms crossed on his chest. "You really want to find them?"

The massive red Transformer looked over his shoulder and easily deciphered glimpses of worry in his newly appointed lieutenant's optics. Disapproval also.

"I would like to tell you "yes", Rodimus. However, the only thing I can reply is that we don't have so many other solutions… We are in lack of warriors to fight the Stalkers."

"I'm sure it's a mistake!" the yellow and red mech insisted.

This reaction was nothing new to Optimus Prime. He didn't reply to this comment, not whiling to argue with his second in command.

"And… I think we should start by the cockpit," he replied evasively.

O

Optimus Prime was the first to step in the remains of the Control Room, followed by Rodimus Prime, Ratchet, Hoist, Wheeljack, Jazz and Ironhide. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker brought up the rear, weapons at hands, ready to fire although they knew that nothing in this ship was functional after twenty years spent in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

The first bodies they found were Skywarp and Thundercracker. The two Seekers lay not far away from each other; Skywarp, on his back, and Thundercracker, face down.

"Funny to find them together… Looks like old' Warp and TC are inseparable!" Jazz mocked, recollecting the countless times he had to face the crossed shots of the two jets. The mech felt a little guilty about his comment, as Optimus Prime looked back at him with an uneasy expression. Jazz then noticed the deep wound on the chest of the black and purple Seeker, exposing the internal wires. "Well, "funny" is not the word I really intended to use," he apologized, considering briefly how painful the blow would have been for the jet.

Ratchet knelled down by the side of Skywarp and beckoned Wheeljack to do the same.

"Can you assist me? I need to open his canopy and check if there is a pulse."

"According to the wounds, I don't think that breaking his canopy would damage him more…"

"Wheeljack, I am a medic, not a brute!"

The half-masked robot nodded and skillfully explored the side of the glassy surface to find a way to open it. He finally discovered the latch commanding the opening and pulled it. The canopy slid to the left, unveiling the inner circuitry.

"It's completely wet," Wheeljack commented, "But anyway, as long as the spark box is intact, that's not a big deal!"

"That doesn't matter at all, you mean," the medic corrected, plugging a small device to the command panel of the jet.

All the members leaned forward, staring at the screen of the device. A red light appeared on it after few seconds. Ratchet looked up to Optimus Prime, smiling.

"It's exactly what we assumed… Skywarp is locked in stasis. By chance, it might be the same for the others."

"That's more than possible," Wheeljack added, "Remember that at the time of the first attacks, twenty years ago, the Stalkers ignored completely how to kill a Transformer!"

"That's a pity they have learned the way since," Optimus Prime regretted.

"Optimus ! I've found Starscream and… Megatron!" Rodimus Prime called.

O

The massive red Transformer walked slowly to the corner of the command room that Rodimus Prime pointed. He knew that all the optics were set on him and that the members of his team were curious or anxious to know how he would react in front of the remains of his greatest foe. He first stepped in front of the console where Starscream lay. It was an odd vision: save the absence of the canopy and the hole in his chest, the way the limbs of the Air Commander were spread on the console and the serene expression of his face plate, it looked as if he had just felt into recharge there, exhausted after a hard battle. Nothing on his face reflected the aggressive temper and paranoia of the "Screaming One".

"Ratchet, can you check over him? He's more seriously damaged than his two wing mates," he asked, walking past Rodimus Prime. He had just made out the so recognizable silver form, leaning against the wall not far away the console where "slept" the Seeker.

He walked slowly to the unmoving body of Megatron and knelt in front of him. He searched the burning red glare but found only dead optics. He noticed the hole on Megatron's chest - roughly the same type as the one "decorating" the chest of Starscream - and the black cannon, ripped out of the Decepticon tyrant's arm.

"I guess both Megatron and Starscream have been dealt by the same Stalker, a "Sword Stalker". The most dangerous type," he whispered to himself. He brushed the wound, evaluating the size. "It was different from the attacker of Thundercracker and Skywarp… The wound is too large, too deep and besides, their internal circuitry had been fried. That was certainly a commander, holding a magma saber. Anyway, Megatron and Starscream couldn't stand a chance against him."

He remained there, pensive, thousands of thoughts rushing in his CPU. Tons of information about the enemy gathered in his mind as he was trying to understand what had happened in this cockpit, just by looking at the wounds of the victims. It was an exercise he had been familiar with for years, in order to assess the identity and techniques of the enemy. Thousands of memories struck him as he reminded the war between the Autobots and Decepticons, on Cybertron, then on Earth. He, fighting Megatron, the Transformer that he hated the most in the Universe… That was before this hell.

'Time is not to meditation or uncertainty… We have to hurry. The Stalkers might be around somewhere,' he reflected. Looking over his shoulder, he realized that all the crew was silent, staring at him, waiting for the green light.

"Auto… Cybertronians! You all know what you have to do and who you have to look for! We don't have so many times… Roll-out!" he stated.

A loud "Yes Sir!" answered his command and all the robots dispersed on the carcass of the spaceship.

O

Rodimus Prime stared at Optimus Prime who was lifting up the heavy body of Megatron. He then looked down at the form of the Decepticon Air Commander and sighed.

"To who had told me that one day, I would rescue you, I would have replied he was crazy… Okay, come here, pretty Seeker!" he grumbled.

He picked up the limp body of Starscream and cradled him in his arms. Holding back a sigh of disgust, he then made his way out to the exit, following Optimus Prime.

**

* * *

One week later, Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force (Old designation of the area: Japan, Tokyo)**

Optimus Prime looked at the five Transformers who sat in front of his large desk: the former Autobots Wheeljack, Ratchet and Perceptor, and last, but not the least, the two former Decepticons Shockwave and Hook. They all looked completely exhausted, as they hadn't recharged for days.

"We can postpone the meeting… Just time for you to recharge," he offered. Deep inside, he was just burning to know what the result of their investigations was.

"No need… Let's go straight to the point!" Shockwave answered.

Optimus Prime wasn't surprised that Shockwave took the upper hand on the scientific team in this meeting. He had been one of the main players of the reconciliation between the survivors of the Decepticons and the Autobots. Moreover, he had shared the entire precious data and technologies gathered in haste before his escape from Cybertron.

O

"To go straight to the point, we can rebuild the exact same body for all the Decepticon subjects, adding some improvements, except for two…" Shockwave explained.

Optimus Prime's optics flashed with curiosity.

"Except for two?"

"Yes, except for two: Soundwave and Megatron… We don't have any spec of their bodies. Megatron has been built a long time ago, and I am not sure that any specs was left on Cybertron's computer. Even if they were, I couldn't download them before escaping."

"And Soundwave?"

"For Soundwave, we only have half the specs… Whatever we study his body, the mechanism of his transformation remains a mystery… Not to speak about his ability to carry other Transformers in his chest. The mechanism is different from what we found out on Blaster."

"You mean, you can't rebuild them at all? They are both impossible to repair?"

"Yes and no. We mean we can rebuild them but different from their current form, or, to be more precise, put their sparks in a totally new body," completed Hook.

There was a silence as the optics of Optimus Prime shone with an increasing surprise.

"I guessed you're aware that, at the conditions the spark maintains its integrity, and that the stasis is not prolonged beyond the acceptable delay, a Transformer can be perfectly functional after being repaired," added Wheeljack "But-"

"But, to our very surprise, it looks as if the spark of Decepticons can be transferred directly on a new body, with the same capability of functioning," Ratchet completed. "And there, you have the opinion of a medic."

Once again, struck by surprise, Optimus Prime couldn't help but staring at the single optic of Shockwave.

"Really? Autobots, can they do the same?" he asked.

"No"

"Are you sure?"

O

Ratchet and Wheeljack looked at each other and then turned their optics to Hook. That has been a long time that Optimus Prime hadn't used the terms "Autobot" or "Decepticon", bringing back the old separation between the two clans while he had fought for the idea of "Cybertronian identity" since the beginning of this war.

"Shockwave told you the truth, Optimus Prime," Ratchet said.

"He gave us access to the Decepticon Database…There is no doubt," Wheeljack agreed, "On the side of the Autobot, Teletran 1 doesn't exist anymore and Teletran II is incomplete. We don't know anything about our real capacities."

Hook said nothing but nodded to the words. Shockwave remained still and silent, his single optics peering at Optimus Prime's visual components. Obviously, the red leader felt a little guilty of his suspicions.

O

"I believe you've investigated every single possibility… What are you exactly expecting for me?" Optimus Prime eventually asked.

"The green light to transfer Megatron's and Soundwave's sparks on entirely new shells."

The tone of Shockwave was neutral, his words precise. Optimus Prime didn't even feel the need to consider other options.

"Please, proceed accordingly… Don't forget; battles are in the sky. Masters of this cruel war are those who rule the sky… We need strong flier leaders!"

**

* * *

One month later… Same place… Laboratory restricted area # 2025**

"I still don't understand you, Optimus!" Rodimus Prime complained. "And I still think… No… I'm sure that it's wrong!"

The truck Transformer looked at his second in command, trying to put as much as reassurance in his optics.

"I know your opinion, Rodimus… I know."

"Really? Do you fully realize that you're going to unleash a monster, a beast, which has killed thousands of Autobots? A tyrant who was ready to crush this planet just in order to bring power to his kingdom of terror!"

Optimus Prime threw him the kind of intense glare that could stop a young Cybertronian to question the decision of his elder.

"Among the thousands killed, there was a young naive bot called Orion Pax, who admired Megatron, the gladiator. Unfortunately, the silver gladiator came and killed him… He became who I am; Optimus Prime, the fiercest and the most powerful opponent of Megatron the Slag Maker !"

Rodimus Prime lowered his head, looking sorry.

"I didn't mean bringing you to that time," he apologized.

The red leader just kept walking to the massive door of the laboratory. His answer came after few minutes of silence.

"The Salonian Empire killed billion of humans, and I guess I don't need to remember you what it did to our home planet."

"No… You don't need!"

"I've always thought that Megatron was the most evil being in the Universe until the massive attack, twenty years ago. Then, I discovered that he was quite far from being the face of Evil, that there were worst creatures."

The young Cybertronian looked at his leader, half-understanding, half-questioning.

"But… anyway… Are you sure he will get along with us and not try to join the enemy? How can you be sure we're going to control him?"

Optimus Prime stopped walking and stared at the optics of his young lieutenant. Rodimus Prime felt his park freezing under the intensity of the gaze and the visions that he saw through the blue-stained optics; battles, loss, pain… A short cut to describe the hell Optimus Prime' s spark was stuck on.

"I am sorry… I'm stupid. After all you've been through, I shouldn't even dare questioning your decisions. I believe in you, Optimus!" the car Transformer apologized.

Optimus Prime said nothing. He just set a hand on his shoulder, the slight pressure suggesting that he was thankful. Then he left, walking hastily to the laboratory where the "beast" was to be unleashed.

Rodimus Prime couldn't help shivering at the idea.

O

The first thing that Optimus Prime noticed was the bunch of cables linked to the repair berth. He recognized easily the silver shape, despite the major "changes", most of them concentrated on his back.

'He won't be happy with that, for sure!' he thought, surprisingly amused. 'He will certainly try to shoot me… Anyway, I am prepared.'

"Optimus Prime! We're ready… What did take you so long?" Wheeljack asked.

"Rodimus Prime…"

"I see," the masked robot replied. "Can we start?"

Optimus Prime kept staring at the unmoving form. His weaponry was really intimidating, even more than before. Megatron had always carried a massive body, shaped for battle, and his current form wouldn't deny it. Now, he was really the representation of a killing machine. Optimus Prime couldn't help thinking he had been right to follow the suggestion of Rodimus Prime: keeping Megatron half-recharged.

"Put him out of stasis."

"At your request, Optimus!"

O

The optics of Megatron flickered as he slowly came back on line. A stream of images passed through as he started to scan his memory bank. Images of his battles against Prime quickly disappeared, leaving the place to the vision of an alien spaceship. He then saw his soldiers, stricken by panic, Starscream getting out of control and him shooting at the Seeker. Then an explosion, water…

…

_Starscream was pinned against the nearest console under another black robot that was holding a massive sword. The gray blade was plunged to the hilt in his chest. Starscream's head jerked back and Megatron could see life slowly going away from his optics. Coming back to his senses, he calibrated his cannon and fired at the aggressor. The shot hit the black robot on the face and upper-torso but to his dismay, it veered on the left, ending in a control panel._

_'A shield! They have also a shield!' he realized, feeling fear definitely take the upper hand on him. At lost with what to do, he kept firing at the black robot, which was now floating around him, his blade back to his hand, glaring at him with his big red optics. Megatron then understood he was the next prey and braced himself for battle. A few meters away, the robot disappeared behind a new swirl caused by the explosions. _

_The bloody red optics appeared few inches from his face. Megatron's cannon was torn out with incredible brute force and a part of the internal circuitry of his arm removed on the same time. He let out a scream of pain, which died out as the sharp blade cut his chest armor and dived in his body, burning him inside._

…

Megatron felt a wave of terror crossing through each single circuit of his body while his optics flashed of a volcano red. A light overload of his logical chip blocked his cognitive functions during a short time, but he soon became able to ask himself what he was doing there. As far as he could understand, he was lying on the table of a kind of a repair bay. Last detail, but not the least: Optimus Prime, two other Autobots, and the Constructicon Hook surrounded him. He couldn't process what the Decepticon was doing by the side of Autobots, or why they all looked at him with concerns, as if they were worried about him.

_'Ridiculous!'_ he thought with a growing irritation. This feeling became unbearable as the gazes of the four Transformers were desperately stuck on him.

"What are you looking at? Where am I? What am I doing here?" he groaned.

O

Optimus Prime leaned back, and looked at Wheeljack, then at Ratchet.

_'That's not going to be easy…'_

Hook nodded discreetly in approval, as if he had understood the thought.

O

"You have been deactivated for a long time… We repaired you and put you out of stasis" Optimus Prime replied.

"Prime, don't tell me things that I'm able to understand by myself. I want to know who had attacked us and where are my men!" he replied in a full mood.

The Autobot leader sighed and looked hesitant to reply.

"Prime?"

"Okay Megatron, I was planning to treat you carefully and wait a little longer before unveiling the truth, but as you are insisting…"

The optics of Megatron flashed violently, anger blossoming in his circuitry at the words of his enemy.

"Treat me carefully? You're joking! Have you fried your circuits?" he yelled, trying to shift into sitting position.

He then felt that something was wrong with his body. It was strange to define, but he had the feeling that he was on a totally unknown shell. The sensation was particularly disturbing on his back and shoulders, as there was a kind of weight applied to the area. He looked down and checked if he still had his fusion cannon. To his relief he saw that his left arm was still equipped with the lethal weapon. And to his greatest shock, he noticed that his right arm had a similar one.

"What have you done to me?" he burst with anger, "This is not my body!"

Reaching his right shoulder, he then started to inspect what caused him the strange sensation in his back. His energon ran cold as his hand brushed the surface of what he identified as a wing.

Anger transformed in pure rage, and Megatron exploded like a volcano.

"A flier, you transformed me into a flier!" he barked, "Prime! You're dead! I'm going to scrap you for that!"

He calibrated his cannon and fired at the tall red Transformer with all his strength. The shot missed Optimus Prime and blew up a recharge table. Megatron roared, then adjusted a second shot, but found himself firmly pinned under the four Transformers. His wings pressed painfully against the metallic surface of the table, compressed by the weight of his own body and the pressure of Optimus Prime' hands. A wave of pain spread from the area, unbalancing his circuits and almost cutting off line his audio receptors and optics.

He knew that wings were the weak spots of most of the fliers. He remembered the day he had beaten Starscream to a pulp and had sadistically shot one of his wings. He had laughed when his second in command had collapsed to his knees, reduced to a crying mechanic toy. Now he understood the reaction of the Seeker.

_'It hurts, it just hurts like hell!'_

O

"Get off… Get off my wings! Enough!"

The voice of Megatron was now imploring and Optimus Prime saw distress and pain on the face of the silver Transformer. The Decepticon leader had stopped struggling and was now still, optics glittering weakly, teeth gritted not to cry.

"We can release him now," he told to the other robots.

Wheeljack, Ratchet and Hook nodded silently and slowly loosened their grip on Megatron's limbs. The Decepticon was unmoving during few minutes, recovering from the pain in his wings and then sat on the recharge table. He looked at Optimus Prime, anger and confusion reflected on his features.

"Please, Megatron, don't make it harder than it is already!" Optimus Prime pleaded.

The expression of Megatron's face darkened a little, anger ready to erupt again.

"Now, explain!" he hissed.

O

"You're right Megatron, that's not your body!" Optimus Prime sighed. "Your original body was too damaged, and we had no spec to repair it."

"Damaged by whom?"

"The Stalkers, of the Empire of Salonia… They attacked the Nemesis II and almost killed you and the other Decepticons. You were badly damaged and locked into stasis. You remained twenty years underwater until we found the spaceship and raised it."

Megatron noticed with distaste that his wings were slightly twitching of surprise. He even felt disgust, recollecting the many times he had mocked Starscream for displaying his feelings in such a ridiculous way.

"Where are my Decepticons?"

"They are still locked in stasis. Wheeljack, Ratchet and Hook, and some others, have worked on them, and had almost completed the repairs. You're currently the first one that we put back online."

Megatron didn't reply, too busy to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. He remembered the attack, the aggression by the black robots, the blackness and then his awakening in this repair bay, some minutes ago. That made suddenly more sense to him. Except one point…

"Why have I been rebuilt as a flier?" he eventually asked.

"Because we need fliers…"

"We?"

"We… I mean, the Cybertronian army," Optimus Prime answered.

The optics of Megatron narrowed to slits; Prime was reaching very slowly to the point.

"What is the Cybertronian army?" asked the silver leader, his voice betraying his impatience. "You're not telling me everything, Prime, and especially why you decided to bring me back to life. I'm your more powerful and hated enemy!"

Optimus Prime lowered his head, obviously not willing to answer that last point.

"I guess that you have heard enough news for your awakening. Have a rest and we will discuss later," he offered.

"No way! I want the truth, Prime, and I want it immediately!" Megatron shouted menacingly.

The blue optics of Optimus Prime glittered strangely. He leaned forward and peered at the flaming red optics of the silver Decepticon.

"Megatron, Cybertron has been destroyed."

O

Megatron neither paid attention to Optimus Prime nor really realized the Autobot leader had finished his explanations and was now staring at him, waiting for a reaction. He didn't take care anymore of the two other Autobots and of Hook. He didn't care anymore of the changes of his body and the addition of wings. Cybertron was gone and nothing else was important anymore. The planet he had been the ruler, the star that had witnessed his battles and his victory, the kingdom that he had conquered by force and at the price of so many lives… His proud, the living evidence of his power and cruelty… Gone. Destroyed. Nothing was left.

Slowly, dizziness caused by the shock of the revelation faded away, replaced by anger. Waves of despaired rage spread on each of his circuits, clouding his sight and almost disconnecting his audios. He rose slowly, clutching strongly his fists. He saw that Optimus Prime was speaking to him but didn't hear him. He raised his arms, feeling the warmth increasing inside the two cannons.

His optics were completely offlined when he released the power of his weapons, firing with all his might. Rage also left him as a strong cry, very much alike the roar of a wounded lion, escaped his throat.

Then silence enveloped him again.

**To be continued**

* * *

Text edited on July 20, 2009


	4. Ch 4: Welcome back to Hell 2

**Chapter 4: Welcome back to Hell (2) - Rebellion of a Prince**

**Another week later, Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force**

Quarters of Megatron.

Megatron rested his chin on his knees and hated himself for that. He just looked like the apprentice gladiator that he once had been, million years ago, a long time before he became the Slag Maker.

'You're so pathetic!'

The bitterness of defeat was the only thing that was left to him. Cybertron was gone. The Decepticon Army didn't exist anymore. He had been killed and then brought back to life by the Autobots. Everything around him seemed horrible, if not disgusting, and for the first time in his long existence, Megatron would have preferred being deactivated.

Heavy footsteps warned him that he was no longer alone in his new quarters. In few seconds, he recognized who was behind this disturbing noise and inwardly cursed his name.

"Leave me alone, Prime!" he shouted, burying his face in his hands.

The noise of gears turning as a metallic and heavy body knelt beside him informed Megatron that his demand had been ignored.

"Megatron… You have to come with me."

The silver Transformer looked up and glared at his former enemy. He tried to put all his anger, despise, hatred in his glare but knew that he only showed his disarray.

"What do you want, Prime? Leave me alone!" he gasped.

Optimus shook his head as to deny a second time the request and set a hand on Megatron's shoulder. As a sign of comfort? Megatron wished he could shoot Optimus Prime to death, just to remind him that the leader of the Decepticon didn't need comfort. It was just good for a weakling, who he was not, wasn't he?

Unfortunately, he found himself incapable of rebelling.

"I'm sorry, Megatron, I didn't mean to disturb your privacy, but… We are going to put Starscream out of stasis. I think you'd better be there."

Megatron couldn't help smirking.

"You really like bringing problems back online, Prime!" he chuckled.

* * *

**Medical Repair bay #2036**

Megatron leaned forward and looked closely at the critical changes on the body of his second in command. He was still a jet, right, but his wings were bigger as well as his engines. His shape was slender and Megatron couldn't help thinking that his waist was utterly slim.

'I could cut him in half with a single shot of my cannon,' he reflected, shared between fascination and disgust. "So, Prime, it looks like your engineers have a lot of fun changing our shape… Real devotion to the cause or simple revenge against us?" he scoffed, and then smirked, watching that his insult had hit the nail on the head.

"We're not playing! We're trying to bring all of you back online with the maximum improvements… That's all!" the truck Transformer replied, his voice trembling over the horrible accusation.

"Yes, it's what I've just said… Congratulation, Prime! The way you dispose of the others showed me that you've learned about cruelty. You'd be a prefect second in command of the Decepticon army now!" Megatron laughed sarcastically. He shot a glance full of hatred at Shockwave who replied to him with an equal glare.

Despite his smirk, Megatron was seething with anger. 'How dare they use us like this!' he fumed, looking down at the unmoving form of Starscream. 'He looks so weak and inoffensive! I can't even think he's fit for battle now!'

"Please, Megatron, that's not the time! I thought you would understand-" Optimus pleaded.

The silver flyer chuckled but didn't add further sarcasms.

"Sorry sirs… Can we start?" asked Wheeljack, looking embarrassed.

"Only if Megatron agrees," Optimus replied, turning his head to look at his counterpart. "He was your second in command and your Air Commander. It's your call to bring him back or not."

Megatron looked down at the still face of Starscream: his perfect features hid so well his treacherous and murderous nature. _'I shouldn't bring him back… He will only be a source of problems, as usual!'_ he pondered.

"I don't care at all… In addition, I guess you have your agenda and don't mind if I agree or not," he dryly retorted. Folding his arms on his chest, Megatron walked away from the recharge berth.

O

Optimus Prime's glance drifted discreetly to Megatron. Bringing him to this repair bay had been a good excuse to drag him out of his new quarters, which he had refused to leave since his reactivation. The only time Megatron had agreed to go out was to storm into Optimus' office, requesting his Decepticon emblem back to his torso. Request that Optimus Prime had of course refused, arguing that the old factions didn't exist anymore. The venue had ended with Megatron breaking the panel of the door and rushing definitely back to his quarters.

The truck had another very good reason to have him attend to this reactivation. Megatron had reacted negatively to the news regarding Cybertron, blasting to ashes the walls of the medical bay before blacking out. Optimus was ready to bet that the reaction of Starscream wouldn't be different. The old tyrant and his second in command had in common their tendency to fits to anger. Optimus hoped that despite his confusion, Megatron would be able to hold back Starscream's hysteria.

"Wheeljack, Ratchet, please, go ahead!"

O

Ratchet leaned over the winged warrior and closely inspected the eventual technical failures causing such a discomfort to his "patient". The body of the Seeker tensed up, and he moaned plaintively as if he was under the spell of an awful nightmare.

_--_

_The explosion pushed him back and pinned him against a command board. Starscream struggled to stand up and then discovered with terror that the explosion was not the only thing that had sent him there. Standing above him, a black robot was glaring at him with terrifyingly blazing optics. Despite the panic that spread into his circuits, he noticed that the robot was a little taller and bigger than him and his shape, a succession of sharp angles and curves. Starscream immediately thought to a big ant-like robot and shrieked in disgust as he realized the thing was perched on him, crushing his lap and hips under its own weight. He tried to push the creature back but found himself completely blocked between the console and his aggressor. He struggled to free one of his arms and pointed his null ray at the so close target when pain burnt his chest. He looked down and saw a blade, dug on the right of his canopy._

_The whole circuitry around the wound started to melt, sending disruptive waves of energy in his body. Pain drove him to the edge of madness, and he shouted, unable to stand the horrible sensation that he was to be terminated._

_--_

The five Transformers shivered at the roar that escaped from Starscream's vocal processor. The Seeker arched violently his back as he pushed another alarming cry. Then he leaned back, optics flickering. His body became still as if he was back in stasis.

Ratchet checked carefully the Seeker's optic and then the circuitry inside his canopy. He finished his diagnosis by a close look to the fundamentals of the Seeker, on the medical machine that Starscream was linked to.

"That's okay… He's out of stasis, now. I suppose that he had just checked his memory bank and replayed the attack of the Nemesis II, and by the same way, his own death. It created an overload of both logic and emotional systems, which are overdeveloped for Starscream-"

"Of course, idiot!" Megatron barked.

The glances of Optimus Prime, Ratchet and Wheeljack turned with a perfect coordination toward Megatron. His wings were twitching, evidence of a growing aggravation.

"You don't need to be a medic to understand that! What a Transformer put in stasis mode is obviously going to do when he's reactivated? Checking how and why he had been temporarily deactivated!"

Megatron concluded his speech with a smirk of pure disdain. Ratchet lowered his head and whispered an apologizing "Yes, Sir".

"Megatron! Please! We're all here to cooperate," Optimus pleaded.

"Umph! That's how you see things… like weak Autobots! Not the way a Decepticon sees them!" Megatron spat back and then turned around to glare at the cyclopean Transformer. "Remember, Shockwave? The way of the Decepticons?" he rasped.

O

Optimus Prime watched with distaste Megatron spiting his anger toward him and the former Decepticon. It was easy to understand that the silver tyrant had very hard time to cope with the new reality and his awakening. However, his behavior, if it didn't improve, was to jeopardize the operations.

"Megatron, please, for the last time, stop it! Otherwise, I will have to bring you back to your quarters, and we're going to deal with Starscream by ourselves!"

The silver robot burst out laughing maniacally.

"No you won't ask me, Prime! Because you fear the little fool throws a tantrum, and you need me to thwart him!"

O

Megatron smirked as Optimus Prime was speechless. _'Ah! Yes! Being nasty is so good!'_ he gloated to himself. For the first time this week, he felt he was alive again. _'What did you expect from me, Prime…? Obey to your orders like a loyal Autobot… Stop dreaming! I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. I don't have choice but to cooperate with you, but believe me, it won't be a picnic for you!'_ he swore to himself, definitely feeling better thanks to his regain of wickedness.

He smirked as a moan came from the repair table where Starscream was slowly coming back online.

'_And now, let's start the funny things!'_

**

* * *

Departure ramp #809**

Astrotrain and Blitzwing stopped their conversation when they saw Shockwave entering the ramp. The visit at the repair bay had taken longer than expected. A slightly disturbing hitch, owing Shockwave was the leader of the upcoming raid.

"Something wrong with the Screaming One?" Blitzwing casually asked .

"I don't know yet… Starscream has just been reactivated. He was still unconscious when I left. No, the problem, it's Megatron!" Shockwave replied. The two triple changers noticed a certain hint of annoyance in his voice.

"What did he said? The "Mighty One" still refuses to meet us?" Astrotrain chuckled.

"He didn't say that this time… He just insinuated that I was a traitor." Shockwave crossed his arms on his chest, under the attentive look of his two interlocutors.

"It doesn't surprise me. The attack of the Nemesis and everything that had followed was shocking enough for us," Blitzwing said with a detached smile, "I guess that for a Transformer, who had spent twenty years underwater, that's completely crazy!"

Astrotrain nodded, strangely contemplative.

"Anyway, I am more concerned by the success of today's raid rather than Megatron's mood! Blast off in half a cycle!"

Saying these words, Shockwave made his way to the upper part of the ramp, which was the place of the leader and started to check carefully the status of the preparation of the nearest planes.

"Got to check my team, also. See you later!" Blitzwing said. Waving at Astrotrain, he headed to the West part of the ramp.

O

Astrotrain was thoughtful during a breem, glancing over the latest preparations for the raid. Dirge was reviewing the four jets belonging to his team, giving serious advices to his pilots.

"I guess Megatron doesn't know we work with humans now. He's going to blow his circuits and shoot us! We're not finished with the old grumpy one! Not to speak of Starscream!"

Not far away, Shrapnel was intensely training to scrap a big metal bar by the only strength of his fists under the interested glance of Hook.

The scene immediately remembered him the day of the attack of the Decepticon Head quarter. Blitzwing and himself had been sent to a mission in a Californian power plant few hours before. They had come back in hurry, alarmed by the insight of huge spaceships heading to Earth and by the explosions that had suddenly clouded the sky on all directions. What they had found, back at their base, were only piles of dusts and scraped metal with the bodies of Hook, Shrapnel and Dirge floating among the wreck. The wounded Decepticons had managed to tell them about the attack, leaving no doubt about the destruction of the Decepticon army. Stricken by panic, they had both decided to do the unthinkable: go and find the Autobots for protection.

O

"Astrotrain?"

The triple changer looked up at the large white silver shuttle Transformer, who had just called his name.

"Hum! Skyfire! You're ready?" he asked, suspecting already what the shuttle wanted to know.

"Yes, the Aerialbots and I are ready… We'll be part of the second wave, just behind you." Skyfire replied, somehow un-at-ease. "Actually, I just wanted to know… Starscream… Is he out of stasis, now?"

"Yes, the traitor number One of the Decepticon Army is back. Why do you want to know?"

Skyfire shrugged his shoulders, pretending to be annoyed.

"For nothing… Just for curiosity's sake."

**

* * *

Medical Repair bay #2036, some minutes later**

The first thing Starscream saw was the ceiling. 'A repair bay,' he assumed. 'Why am I not surprised?'

That was a banal sight for him. There had been a time he used to lay on a repair berth at least once a week due to his exaggerated audacity in battle or his challenges to Megatron. Well, mostly by reason of his attitude - close to impertinence and disrespect - toward Megatron.

'Where is this bastard!' he wondered, fighting back what was closed to a human headache.

His gaze left the ceiling and wandered on the four figures that were staring at him. The names rose from his memory bank without effort: Optimus Prime, Wheeljack and Ratchet. "Autobots" he recollected with disgust, 'I've been put down by Autobots? No!'

He tried to focus his optics back to the ceiling and chase away the idea that he was prisoner of the Autobots. However, his optics fell on the fourth Transformer, a tall and strongly built silver flier who leered at him. Starscream felt a shiver spread all over his circuits when he locked his gaze with the flaming red optics. What was this awkward feeling of "déjà-vu"?

'Skyfire? No! It's not him! Skyfire has no anger in his optics… I've seen that before.'

…

_Pain was unbearable. No circuit in his body was spared the general short-circuit created by his abrupt contact with the ground of Cybertron. He had crashed. He, Starscream, one of the best flyers of the planet, one of its most perfect creations, matching so well with his domain, the sky, had fallen. He was now nothing more than a battered shell, lying in the dust, too exhausted to move, and soon, to think. _

_Worst of all, he was a coward who had preferred leaving his friend to his cruel fate rather than rescuing him. Skyfire was lost forever and it was his fault. He had not been strong enough to carry on with the rescue operation; not optimistic enough to hope that his friend had escaped termination and was awaiting his help. _

_Yes, termination… It was what he deserved for failing, yet again. He was bordering death when he felt a slight pressure on his back and shoulders. Somebody was turning him over, carefully trying not to scratch his already wounded wings even more. He turned his optics on and stared at the bright silver armor he was pressed against. _

"_Skyfire, you're alive," he whispered, reaching for the bright face and gently stroking a cheek. _

_Flaming red optics flashed malevolently at the contact. 'No, it's not Skyfire!' he thought, panic sweeping over him as the return gaze hurt him as fiercely as a canon's shot. He pulled his hand back to his ruined chest, not able to suppress a shiver of fright. He quivered when a strong voice escaped the still and harsh face of the Transformer who was holding him._

"_Fear not, Seeker. You are in good hands. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons." _

_Starscream was raised from the ground and strongly held in arms which were certainly more accustomed to slaying that protecting. But strangely, it was not fear he felt but a reassuring feeling of protection. He closed his optics and rested his head against the strongly built chest, lulled by the roar of the vivid engine pulsing beneath the bright armor._

…

Torn between surprise and fear, Starscream managed to shift to a sitting position while he never took his optics off the silver flier. He memorized each line of his body and was taken aback when the scan matched with the description of his leader recorded in his data bank. No, this Transformer couldn't be Megatron… He looked so much younger than the tyrant and was a flyer. However, the request to his data bank ended on a conclusion that Starscream considered again as a nonsense.

"Megatron, is… that you?" he murmured.

The silver Transformer walked to him with a very familiar smirk plastered on his face. He stood in front of him, so tall, so powerful, his shadow hiding the light and plunging Starscream's form into darkness. One of his arms pointed at the face of the Seeker, putting him at the receiving end of the barrel of a black fusion cannon.

"Is this a hint, Starscream?" asked the familiar voice.

O

Optimus Prime set his hand on the barrel and forced Megatron to lower his cannon. Looking down at the Seeker, he felt almost sorry for him. Starscream was shivering, staring with horror at the menacing weapon.

"I've told you, Megatron, I won't tolerate this behavior any longer!" he warned on an unusual threatening tone.

The silver Transformer actually made no resistance and gave out an amused laugh.

O

Megatron watched with disgust Optimus Prime putting Starscream in the picture about the current situation. The Seeker clutched his head, shaking it in pure denial. Optimus Prime set a hand on his shoulder and Megatron grimaced even more openly.

_'Well done, Prime! You have done everything to drive him crazy and out of control. You don't understand… A Decepticon doesn't need comfort, even from his own comrades and certainly not from an enemy. Look at them, Prime, look at his optics; don't you see the hurt pride, the fury within?'_

Megatron scanned the face and especially the gaze of his second in command. He knew so well what these maddened optics meant.

_'You're going to see, Prime… He's on the edge of throwing a tantrum. It would have been different if you had let me deal with him. Fear is the only thing that works with him. Believe me, I've studied him! I had to… The loyal Seeker turned into a power hungry traitor in a blink of the optics. I had to watch my back, staring at his optic in search of a deadly sign. Watch his hands, how they tremble before aiming at me with his null-rays. I know each of his twitches and habits, maybe better than he does himself… I can tell you Prime, that right now, you should go away from him!'_

Staring at the enraged expression that was blossoming on the face of Starscream, Megatron slowly walked to Optimus and powered the cannon hanged at his left arm. He set it at full power while Starscream viciously shot Optimus through the chest, sending his tall frame slamming into the wall. Megatron shot the Seeker without hesitation, aiming at his shoulder but missed him. He was to fire a second time but Starscream was quicker and the null ray blasted a panel in his mid-section. Short-circuits shut down his audio and optics, and he collapsed to his knees. He remained there during a couple of breems, blind and deaf, until his senses came back. He then realized that the Autobot medic and his masked comrade were also down but Starscream was no more in sight.

"Slag! The little fool has escaped!" he groaned, standing up with difficulties.

He looked down at Optimus Prime who was struggling to get to his feet.

"We have to find him… Before… He hurts somebody."

Megatron smirked, watching that the red mech was quite groggy. Starscream's unique weaponry had disastrous effects on Transformers' circuitry.

"Satisfied, Prime? You drove Starscream completely mad! What do you believe? He's been killed as a Decepticon and was reborn as a Decepticon! Not as an Autobot!"

**

* * *

Somewhere in the base**

Starscream rushed in the hallway without care to the direction. It didn't matter at all, actually, and the only thing that he had in mind was to escape this "world of nonsense".

_'I've been trapped by the Autobots… They try to make me believe Megatron is with them… They try to make me crazy with the story of the destruction of Cybertron… They're lying… They're lying!'_

How could this madness be reality? For sure, the silver flyer had fired at him with a fusion cannon but in his clouded mind, Starscream couldn't accept he could be Megatron. He clutched his fist and hit the heavy metal door that blocked his way. Panic spread through his circuits as he realized that he was trapped like a bird in a cage, in a spooky, dark and strange base.

"Open! Open it!" he shouted, hitting the black door, his voice displaying all his despair. He finally set his head on the cold metal, hitting more weakly as he started to feel a kind of dizziness. He had shot four times with his null - rays, and it was obviously taking a toll on his incompletely recharged body.

"Treacherous Autobots! You won't keep me here! I have to go… I must find the way out!"

He suddenly turned around, his fuel pomp hammering violently in his chest as he heard footsteps coming in his direction. He raised his arms, targeting the corner of the hallway. Pressure in his circuits increased as a shape appeared in the corner. Despite his growing agitation, Starscream finally made out the robot and recognized him: the beetle Transformer Bumblebee. He fired, aiming at the shoulders of the small robot, sending him flying into the wall in a cry of pain and surprise. Pouncing on his prey, he squeezed the throat of the yellow Autobot.

"Now listen, little Autoscum! If you want to leave a little longer, you'll have to show me the way out! Understood?" he groaned, sending the horned head slamming against the wall.

Bumblebee whimpered and nodded as much as he could in sign of surrender.

**

* * *

Medical Repair bay #2036, some minutes later**

Optimus Prime helped Ratchet leaning back against the wall, under the cold stare of Megatron. An incoming radio signal notified him that Rodimus Prime wanted to reach him.

"Optimus Prime, in. What's the matter?"

_(Optimus… Starscream is on the departure ramp 321! He took Bumblebee in hostage!)_

Megatron and Optimus exchanged a surprised glance.

"The fool! I'm sure he's trying to escape because he believes he's prisoner of the Autobots!" Megatron said, "He hasn't eaten a word of what you told him," he added and then smirked.

The red mech nodded, listening carefully to the report of the situation.

"Try to keep him inside, but be careful not to hurt Bumblebee. We're coming! Optimus out!"

The smirk of Megatron grew bigger at the words. "We?" he repeated.

"Yes, "WE"… You're coming with me, Megatron. You were right… I'll let you handle Starscream as you are used to!" Optimus replied, beckoning his counterpart to follow him.

Megatron couldn't suppress a mocking laugh, before he ran on the heels of the massive truck Transformer.

**

* * *

Departure ramp 321**

Starscream was hovering at some meters above the ground, still holding Bumblebee by the throat. Staring defiantly at the Transformers bellow him, he placed the barrel of one of his null rays at the back of the yellow helmet.

"Open the gate! Open it or I blow his little head off!" he screamed, pushing the barrel to the forehead of the yellow bot. Bumblebee squirmed through a little, then became still, conscious that Starscream was aggravated enough to carry out his threats.

"Calm down, Starscream! We don't want to hurt you!" Rodimus Prime assured. He beckoned Hound, Gears and Sideswipe to hold their fire.

"Too bad for you, Autoscum. I don't care hurting you!" the Seeker shouted back, aiming directly at the head of the red bot, sending him and his comrades flying for cover.

He stopped firing when the place was cleared of Autobots, aware that his energy reserves were running out. He had to go away from here and quickly. At lost with what to do, he shifted Bumblebee on his side and started to hit the metal surface with his free hand, ignoring the pain inflected to his fingers.

"Going somewhere Starscream?" called a familiar voice.

The Seeker turned around, and found himself staring again at the barrel of the black fusion cannon. He looked at the robot, fear painted on his face.

"Stay away from me!" he yelled, throwing Bumblebee against the flyer. The winged Transformer caught the little bot in mid-flight and fired at Starscream. The Seeker felt the heat of the explosion burn his back as the blast opened a big hole in the metal structure. Ignoring the intense pain, he pushed through the remains of the gate, aiming at his liberty.

O

"Catch him!" Megatron snarled, throwing carelessly Bumblebee to Optimus Prime.

The Autobot leader hadn't the time to say a word that Megatron fired a second time at the damaged gate, enlarging consistently the breach to enable his massive wings to go through.

"No! Megatron, don't go! It's dangerous out there! You need a patrol with you!" Optimus Prime warned, looking up to the silver form, ready to take off.

Megatron almost laughed when he heard the alarmed voice of his old foe. He barely looked back at Optimus when he flew through the hole.

"As you requested, I am going to take care of the "Screaming One"!"

**

* * *

Outside**

Surprise struck Megatron as he scanned the surroundings.

"The base is installed in one of the alien spaceships, which has fallen on one of the earthlings' city!" he whispered to himself, bewildered. "Prime, there are really many things you keep hidden to me… Well, there's a right for everything. First, I have to find and bring back the little fool!" he muttered.

He scanned the sky and spotted gray clouds darkening the horizon in the West and heard the familiar noise of jets' engines_. An air raid?_ That was another mystery that he would have to clear up at his return. In the East, he made out without difficulty the silver, red and blue form, heading to center of the city. Starscream was still in his robot form and had seemingly difficulties to keep altitude.

"Running out of energy, Starscream?" he chuckled, considering the different options that he had to get to his Air Commander. The quickest way would be to transform into his jet mode and catch up with the exhausted Seeker. Megatron felt a kind of reluctance to switch to his new but completely foreign alt-mode and decided to stay in robot form.

After all, he had all the time to dish out punishment!

O

Starscream fell heavily on the roof of a large building, unable to fly any longer. He lay on his stomach, feeling too weak to get even in a sitting position. He managed to look up as he heard a heavy body landing close to him. To his terror, the silver flyer was looking down at him, optics flaming with cruelty.

"No! Go away from me, you freak!" he screamed, struggling to shift to his all fours.

"What's going on, Starscream? Jealous of me? You're not the most beautiful flyer of the Decepticon army any more?"

"You don't belong to the Decepticon Army… I've never seen you before! It's just a trap of the Autobots! Go away!" Starscream barked, recoiling in fear.

"You want an evidence of my identity, Seeker?" the flyer threatened.

Starscream shivered at the strength of his voice and at the word "Seeker". It was Megatron's favorite word when he wanted to make fun of him, denying he had a name.

"No you can't be him. All that Optimus Prime told me is a lie… The Decepticons haven't been destroyed! Cybertron still exists!" he weakly answered.

"You refuse to believe facts when they don't fit your desires, don't you Starscream? You've always done so, that's why you always end up on your knees, begging for your life!" the silver flyer snapped. "A good advice; stop being rebellious and listen to me, young fool! Otherwise, you might lose your canopy, again, just like last time!"

Starscream felt he was to fall on the ground at the recollection of his last quarrel with Megatron. He looked up and stared at the red optics, soon drowned by the so familiar violence and cruelty they reflected.

"No, It can't be! It can't be!" he screamed, shaking his head, "It's not you!"

Megatron walked forward, raising an arm so that his fusion cannon was aiming at Starscream's chest. However, his hand was open as an invitation… to shake hands?

"Stop this nonsense now, and come! I won't shoot you if you don't fire at me. Besides, you're too weak to fly back to the base by yourself. You won't do it without my help!"

Still dumbfounded, Starscream looked at the open hand of Megatron and then at his optics. Anger was gone and even these words had been softly pronounced. Overwhelmed with emotions, he seized the hand of the robot that he was now ready to recognize as his leader.

A terrible pain tore his left shoulder and a part of his torso. He felt his internal wires were cut and burnt as the shot went through him. His hand squashed the black palm of Megatron in search of comfort against the terrible sensation. His limbs gave up and he fell face down as the world darkened around him.

"Megatron… Help!"

O

Megatron turned his head on the left and spotted the shooter. His whole circuits froze when he recognized the black armor of a "Stalker". The robot was equipped with a big cannon, bigger than his weapons. Feeling danger so close, he gathered the limp body of Starscream and jumped out of the roof, activating his antigravity system. His concentration set to its highest level, he ignored the blast that blew up the platform where he was few seconds before.

**To be continued**

* * *

Text edited on July 20, 2009.


	5. Ch 5: Welcome back to Hell 3

**Chapter 5: Welcome back to Hell (3) - Hidden in the city**

**Outside the base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force; ruins of Tokyo**

The platform blew up in a thunder of explosions while metal and rocks rained around him. The blast almost blew the whole building and part of the next constructions, draping the neighborhood in a curtain of black dust. Despite all the rubbles hitting his back, Megatron looked over his shoulder to check the position of the attacker; the Stalker was flying down and would be soon on them. Firming his grip around the waist and torso of Starscream, he flipped over to face the lethal robot. He cocked his fusion cannon and fired just at the time the Stalker emerged from the cloud of dust. To his dismay, but not his surprise, the blast veered to the walls of the nearest building, adding more dust to the already saturated atmosphere.

"The shield!" he groaned, recollecting his first encounter with the fierce warriors inside the Nemesis II.

Against an enemy that couldn't be brought down, the only alternative was to escape and hide, and try to find a way back to the base without being killed. Scanning the surroundings, Megatron realized he was flying in a district of high-rise buildings.

_'A perfect field to hide!'_ he reflected, _'but most important first: let's put us off the Stalker's scent so that he doesn't follow us!' _

His fusion cannon roared again as he shot at a ruined skyscraper, blasting concrete and metal and adding more and more dust until the surroundings were nothing else but a thick gray curtain. Megatron boosted his engines and rushed to a triangular skyscraper which was partly ripped open, almost certain that the Stalker couldn't trace them.

The building was almost empty inside, as if a missile had blasted away the hundred metres of stories and spared only the structures close to the walls. Megatron flew to the upper levels in search of a hideout. After few seconds, he found what he considered to be a perfect "nest": a gap between two front walls, not that big, but large enough to shelter two flyer Transformers of their size. Moreover, a high wall was hiding the inside. Without hesitation, Megatron slipped between the two concrete walls and then came to a standstill, listening carefully to the silence. Few minutes later, he heard the whizzing of an engine getting closer to their retreat. Adjusting his optics to the darkness, he saw a long shape flying to their direction.

"Megatron…" Starscream whispered weakly.

"Silence!"

Megatron's free hand covered the mouth of the injured Seeker while his arm tightened around the ruined body, preventing eventual squirms or whimpers. Starscream struggled weakly, and then lay still, on the edge of a new blackout.

Was it the whisper or the soft scratch of armor against armor that the Stalker heard? The black robot stopped not far away from their hideout and, hovering on the spot, scanned carefully the destroyed surroundings. Megatron shut off all his systems, save his optics, and waited. Glancing around, he couldn't help thinking that, due to its configuration, this shelter looked very much like a grave.

Minutes ticked by slowly, instilling so much displeasing feelings into Megatron's spark that he almost envied Starscream's unconsciousness. Fortunately, the Stalker detected nothing; he ignited his engines and went on its patrol, heading to the gaping ceiling of the building. Megatron switched on his systems but didn't move until he was certain that their pursuer had left the place. He leaned against the wall, releasing slightly the pressure on the wounded flyer. His hand slowly released the mouth of Starscream, who gave out a faint gasp.

"Megatron… It hurts…" whined the Seeker.

The silver flyer looked down and for the first time, he fully realized the extent of the damages on the chest and shoulders of the Starscream. A mix of Energon and oil was leaking from the hole-cratered area, exposing cut wires and scrapped pieces of metal.

"Megatron, please… It's like hell!" Starscream moaned again, the level of his voice lowering dangerously.

"Starscream, don't speak… I'm here!"

Megatron leaned Starscream against the wall, taking care that his smashed wings don't press too much against the concrete surface. The head of the Seeker nodded gently as he fought to stay online, and then kept still on his left. He stared at the wound and, horrified, tried to reach the damaged area with his right hand. Megatron caught the trembling fingers, forcing the hand back to his side. Starscream timorously looked up at him.

"Let me see… I won't hurt you!" assured Megatron, aware of the unusual softness of his own voice.

Starscream nodded weakly and his body went limp. He let Megatron inspecting the wounds and groaned of pain when a black hand touched the scraps.

Megatron grimaced at the wound; the area had been completely blown and only the shell of the armor was still preserving the cohesion between the shoulder and the torso. More worrying, pipes feeding the fuel pomp had been cut and energon was leaking profusely. At this pace, Starscream would be dry of the vital fluid within few hours.

_'He needs to be fixed by a medic immediately!'_ he reflected, checking once again the damages.

As a warrior familiar with battlefields, he had some knowledge on first aid to provide for smashed limbs or light wounds. He had done it, for some of his best warriors, and sometimes, for himself. However, the damages inflicted to Starscream were too extensive and far beyond his skills.

Deep in the diagnosis, he didn't realize that Starscream had raised his left arm, lifting his null ray to the side of his right fusion cannon. He heard the frightened voice of the Seeker and the light that followed his cry.

"Megatron behind you!"

Starscream's null ray hit the Stalker at the same time Megatron turned around. The black robot stepped back, shaking his head, looking groggy. The silver Transformer instinctively aimed his shot and fired at the Insect-like head. The gray and black angular face blasted wires and metal all around.

Megatron blinked and once he had recovered from his surprise, looked down at Starscream. The Seeker had blacked out again, drained by the shot of his null-ray, which was still smoking.

"Null-rays… The shield of the Stalkers is disrupted by Null-Rays!"

O

Megatron dragged the heavy carcass of the Stalker and leaned it against the wall, close to Starscream. The metal of the robot was strange at the touch; it didn't look like metal but a mix between steel and granite.

_'Anyway, the composition of their armor is not the most urgent point, here,'_ he considered, concentrating on his task. He glanced at Starscream, who was wandering between consciousness and stasis, maybe worst. _'He needs recharge medical care... quickly!'_

His hands settled on the chest plate of the Stalker, and he pulled it strongly with the obvious intent of ripping it open.

"And there must be some energy stuck somewhere in this body!" he groaned, ripping out the alloyed plate.

Once the frontal part of the armor was removed, the inner circuitry appeared in all its complexity. The Stalkers looked as different to Transformers from the inside as from the outside. Putting aside his curiosity, Megatron looked closely at each mechanism, in search of something like a fuel-pomp or a battery. His fingers wandered along the metal components, trying to figure what it could be. He suddenly felt something organic and limp under his fingertips and heard a kind of animal hiss. He felt pain on his fingers and quickly withdrew his hand.

"What the-?"

Something slid out of the cockpit to the floor and he caught muffled footsteps. Something or somebody was running out of this place. He looked at his fingers, pounding as if they had been burnt. The paint job and a thin part of metal had melted, as liquefied by some acid.

"I should have studied those slag Stalkers better last week!" he muttered, staring now at a small cavity in the middle of the open chest, similar to a command desk.

_'They are not like us… They're piloted by flesh creatures!'_ he suddenly realized.

O

Megatron sat against the wall, peering at Starscream. He had finally managed to find a battery on the Stalker and had plugged the Seeker on it. The optics of Starscream were flickering, sometimes flashing while energy ran inside his pipes and circuits again. Unfortunately, he was still losing Energon and fuel.

"That's better! With this recharge, you should have enough energy to stay conscious until I find a way out of the mess you had stuck us into!"

Starscream raised his head, his optics flickering again. Megatron wondered if he could understand what he was saying or not.

"You're lucky I find no entertainment in bashing a wounded and unconscious Seeker. But I swear, Starscream, once you are fit to stand in front of me, with your usual arrogant smirk, saying once again that your "perfect perfection" will lead the Decepticon army… Yes, I swear, I'm going to dish you the proper punishment that you deserve for today's stupid behavior!"

He chuckled when a light sigh escaped the lips of Starscream. He was to continue his monologue when his internal radio beeped.

"Megatron, in!" He smirked when he recognized the voice of his old enemy. "Prime, would you be surprised if I tell you I've never been so happy to hear your vocal processor?" he chuckled.

_(I wouldn't… I guess you had some hard time… What's your exact position?)_

"Starscream is badly damaged and bleeding. I managed to hide in a building. I killed a Stalker and used its battery to recharge the little fool," he replied flatly.

_(You killed a Stalker… how?)_

"Don't tell me you ignore that Null-Rays interfere with their force shield?"

_(No, and it's why we installed two null ray cannons on each of your wrists.)_

"What?"

Megatron reached one of his wrists and palpated it until he realized that a panel could open. He removed it and discovered a cannon, similar to Starscream's, but reduced to the barrel.

"Interesting! How did you develop this? Starscream was the creator of his Null Rays and never gave any spec to anybody... Including me," he asked, puzzled.

_(Remember? Starscream once lost one of his Null Rays on the battlefield, and we gathered it. After the attack of the empire of Salonia, we tested all our weapons against the Stalkers, trying to break their force shield. It appeared that only Null Rays could break through. We then studied the Null Rays and after a few months, we understood how it worked and made as many copies as we needed.)_

"Primus, the pride of the little fool will grow even bigger than it is already!"

Megatron chuckled at the idea.

_(You said you killed a Stalker? Beware; there is a pilot inside.)_

Second laugh. "You mean the corrosive flesh bag that burnt the palm of my right hand? The little scum has escaped… I won't regret it!"

_(He escaped? Megatron, you have to find another hideout!)_

"Negative, Prime… Starscream cannot be moved!"

_(What?)_

"Have you heard what I said? Starscream was shot badly and he's bleeding. Only a medic can stop the hemorrhage," Megatron replied, annoyed that Optimus Prime hadn't got this point. Besides, he had always hated repeating twice the same thing.

_(Patch him and when it's done, find another place to hide!)_

_'Is he making fun of me or what?'_ Megatron fumed, irritation growing. "You're kidding Prime! I'm not a medic!" he growled.

_(Search in your data bank. Ratchet had included a lot's of medical data that you can use for first aid!)_

"What?" Despite his surprise, Megatron inquired his data bank and found out that many files had been added recently. Data that he was not supposed to have, starting by those related to medical care. "I'm impressed, Prime!" he whispered with a hint of sincerity in his voice.

_(When I told you we are not fooling with you!)_

Megatron smiled at the reproach of his old enemy.

"We'll see Prime, we'll see! Time for me to test one of the improvements you talked about. Megatron out!"

His gaze fell on Starscream form and then focused on the wound. This time, he didn't see only broken lines and leaking pipes, but also the way to fix them.

"Well, let's see if Ratchet is going to lose his job when I'm back at the base!"

He smirked to himself, then took off his fusion cannons from his arms, and started to patch Starscream.

* * *

**Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force**

"Megatron! Megatron!" Optimus Prime called. "Slag! He turned his radio off! Sometimes, he doesn't act more logically than Starscream! Anyway… Have you traced their position?"

"Affirmative… They are on the district of West Shinjuku, with a margin of error of one kilometer. What do you plan to do, now?" asked Rodimus Prime.

"Can we contact the air fleet? Megatron is in need of help to leave the city."

"We can try but… I'm not sure that Shockwave or Astrotrain agree to have two or three of their warriors sent to a rescue operation, while the whole fleet is to attack a destroyer!"

"We shall see…"

* * *

**Somewhere in the sky of the Marian Islands, Micronesia**

Astrotrain dodged the sword of the Stalker easily and powerfully stabbed the robot, pushing him several metres back. Taking advantage of the surprise of the Stalker, he struck a second time and cut off the insect-like head.

He looked down at the headless body falling into the see, a smile of triumph gracing his lips.

"Did you believe you would always win? It's time to pay for what you've done to Cybertron!"

He looked around, checking the position of his team and his comrades. He minded the particular light of the sky, red tainted with gray clouds, coming from the explosions of missiles against missiles, and the thunder of engines and explosive devices. As usual, Dirge was leading the human squadrons with the help of Octane, Fireflight, and Air Raid, keeping busy the Stalkers, while the other members of the Aerialbots, Skyfire, Shockwave, Blitzwing and himself were mounting attack against the ship to destroy it.

_'I'm wondering how the others are dealing with our enemies?'_ Not far from him, a jet of Dirge's squadron crashed on the surface of a ship in a deafening sound. _'This is really tight."_

His internal radio notified him that he had an incoming call.

"Astrotrain, in!"

_(Astrotrain, it's Optimus Prime. I can't join Shockwave!)_

"I guess he's a kind of busy! Last time I saw him, he was battling against three Stalkers." Quick as the light, Astrotrain turned around and blocked the sword of another Stalker, parrying with his own weapon. "And I'm a kind of busy myself!" he added.

_(I need to borrow two or three of your warriors for an urgent rescue!)_

"Negative!" Astrotrain replied, ducking the sword aiming at his chest, "We are already outnumbered, here!" he added, aiming the same way at the Stalker's chest, "We can't afford having fewer warriors on the field!"

_(I understand, Astrotrain. Megatron and Starscream are trapped in the old city, and Starscream is badly wounded! They won't be able to escape without external help!)_

Astrotrain finally stabbed the Stalker on the chest and, gripping the other's sword, decapitated the robots.

"I understand the situation, Prime, but there is nothing we can do at the moment. They'll have to wait until we finish the job here."

_(I'm afraid they will be caught before… I'm going to find another solution.)_

"Sorry Prime… Astrotrain out!"

The triple Changer sighed when he spotted two other Stalkers flying in his direction.

"Okay, let's keep up the good pace!"

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, West Shinjuku District**

The first thing that Starscream saw when he came back online was the face of Megatron, or to be more precise, the features of the young looking Transformer that he had identified as Megatron. Then the pain in his right shoulder reminded him that he was injured.

"It hurts!" he moaned.

"Stop whining like a human baby!"

Usually, Starscream wouldn't have taken care of such a rude answer from his Commander but the softness in his voice alarmed him.

"I- I'm going to die, right?" he asked.

Megatron looked at him and managed a malevolent smirk.

"No. I won't let you die! I'm too afraid your ghost haunts me to the end of my life to let you die. I can't imagine having your screechy voice chasing me days and nights."

The so familiar dark humor hit something in the desperate mind of Starscream and he gave out a weak laugh, before fire spread in his intakes. Energon rushed in the wrong direction, and he copiously coughed the vital liquid.

"Don't speak… Stay still!" ordered Megatron, still busy about fixing the broken wires.

As fate would have it, the Transformer who he hated the most in the universe was tending to his wounds!

"Why are you rescuing me?" Starscream couldn't help asking.

"I said: don't speak! Even to this simple order, you can't obey, can you?" the silver warrior muttered.

O

A trembling hand settled on his left wrist, its weak grasp full of feelings; fear of termination, will of knowing the truth. Megatron peered at the face of the Seeker, aware of what questions would follow.

"Why do you always come to the rescue of Starscream, the disloyal Air Commander, the Decepticon who had always betrayed you? Why do you merely bash me while others would just kill me for all my treacheries?"

_'At last, you're asking why,'_ Megatron sighed as feelings that he buried deep in his spark many years ago started to surface. _'I believed I had once made it clear and obvious…'_

He stopped his work on the shoulder's wiring and stared at the optics of his lieutenant. What he saw was only resignation and despair. For the first time since something like eternity, he had the feeling that he was looking at the young Seeker that he had rescued so many years ago. The Seeker who had once admired and worshipped him.

"Let's make a deal, Starscream… You survive and I'll tell you why I tolerate your sorry CPU and vocal processors to interfere with my plans… In return, you tell me why you hate me so much."

The Seeker's optics flashed with surprise, but no answer came.

"Starscream… Deal?"

The grasp on his wrist tightened, unfortunately so weakly.

"Deal… I want to know…" Starscream whispered.

"Good!" Megatron smiled at him, "And now, do me another favor; put you off-line during half an hour… You don't want to feel what you're going to feel if you're online."

To his relief, Starscream followed his advice.

* * *

**Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force**

"What are you going to do?" asked Rodimus. "Only flyers have a chance to survive on the territory of the Stalkers. Besides, we can't leave this base without running the risk of an enemy attack."

Optimus Prime nodded, deep in his thoughts, and eventually reached his audio monitor.

"Ratchet, are you ready to put Skywarp and Thundercracker out of stasis?"

_(Optimus Prime? Well, yes…I mean, I can prepare the operations, but-)_

"Optimus, are you crazy?" cried out Rodimus Prime, "You still want to bring other Decepticons back online after what happened with Starscream!"

"We need flyers to go and rescue Megatron and Starscream… Thundercracker and Skywarp are the most fit for this mission!"

"But have you seen what happened? Starscream became completely crazy! He could have killed anybody, starting by you! Do you believe his two wing mates will behave differently?"

"I hope so… I've been clumsy with Starscream but now, I understand that a Decepticon doesn't behave the same way as the Autobots when it comes to face such a tragedy."

Rodimus Prime shook his head in disbelief.

"And I'm afraid you still don't understand how wrong this project of reactivation is" he retorted. "Imagine you've been dead for twenty years and when you awoke, you discover that your whole world had been torn apart! Even you, you would become crazy! Can you imagine what is it for a Decepticon, for which violence is the common way of expression?"

"I haven't taken this decision to torture them… We are lacking warriors, Rodimus!" spat back Optimus Prime, unusually pissed.

"There must be another solution… Please, consider-"

"ENOUGH RODIMUS! If there had been another solution, I would have chosen it! The discussion is over on this subject! Ratchet, prepare Thundercracker and Skywarp for their awakening and tell me when they're ready. I want them fully recharged."

_(Yes sir! Ratchet out.)_

Rodimus Prime crossed his arms on his chest, definitely suspicious.

"I still think it's an error, Optimus. Anyway, I will be there with my guns, ready to fire at them in case of a rebellion."

* * *

**Back to the sky of the Marian Islands, Micronesia**

Three massive Stalkers guarded the main gate of the destroyer. That was not enough although to impress Shockwave, who was a veteran of such a raids. Making sure other Stalkers were not hiding in ambush, he flew straight to the guards and shot them with his Null-Rays. Switching to his cannon form, he methodologically shot the three robots, one by one. The Stalkers exploded in a deafening bang and a black cloud of dust while Shockwave switched back to his robot, staring coldly at his deadly work.

"Nice shot!" congratulated Astrotrain.

Looking over his shoulder, the Cyclopean Transformer made out the two triple-changers, followed by Skyfire.

"Thanks!" he casually replied while firing at the gate with his handy cannon. Two shots were enough to melt the center of the metallic gate, and a third one opened a clear hole. "Let's go inside!"

"Wait! Shockwave, I've got some news from Optimus Prime! It looks like we'll have some work to do after this mission…"

"Which work?"

Shockwave quickly scanned the surroundings of the gate, making sure that no guard was in the neighborhood. He beckoned to Astrotrain, Blitzwing and Skyfire to join him.

"Megatron and Starscream have entered the Old City and are trapped in a building. Optimus wants us to send some flyers and retrieve them."

The so unique stare of Shockwave fell questioningly on Astrotrain.

"That's out of a question! At least, not before this destroyer sink straight to the bottom of the sea! It's stationed only two hours away from the base… What had happened by the way?"

Astrotrain shrugged his shoulder.

"Don't know… He just said that Starscream was badly wounded."

Shockwave shook his head as an unpleasant thought ran through his CPU.

"I guess Starscream has gone out of the edge once again and Megatron had to deal with him… It's the only explanation!" he muttered.

"We'll know when we find them… The sooner we crash this destroyer, the quicker we can go and rescue Megatron and Starscream," Blitzwing commented, aiming his weapons at the damaged gate, blowing the last scrapped panels with a unique shot.

"Right! Let's take over it!" agreed Astrotrain.

A metallic sound rang out around them as bullets and lasers riddled the surface of the destroyer. New Stalkers were attacking.

"Go inside! I'm taking care of this!" declared Skyfire, turning around to face the three comers.

"Okay, have fun!" encouraged Astrotrain, slipping into the ship on the heels of Shockwave and Blitzwing.

O

The goal was to distract the Stalkers long enough and prevent them from chasing the three Transformers inside the destroyer. Considering quickly the different options he had, Skyfire decided to fly straight at the three warriors, his massive cannon firmly squeezed in his right arm. Action came quickly to him: one of the Stalkers leaped at him, sword ready to cut him in slices. Skyfire didn't even try to dodge and banged his left fist straight in the torso of the robot, sending it crashing against one of the wings of the destroyer.

"How uncivilized I've become!" he sighed, ready to fight with another alien robot.

* * *

**Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force**

"I'm not sure that seeing you, holding a gun in their direction, will put them at ease, Rodimus," Optimus Prime objected.

His lieutenant shook his head. "I'm sure you're wrong. It's going to remind them the good old time of Cybertron war, when Autobots were fighting the Decepticons. That might reduce the shock of their awakening," mockingly answered Rodimus.

"I frankly doubt about that…"

"Should we go on, Optimus Prime?" asked nervously Ratchet. Optimus couldn't make reproaches to the medic; he had been hurt during last experience, and certainly dreaded a new accident.

"Please, do what you have to do!"

Saying these words, the truck Transformer crossed his arms on his chest and watched carefully the medic carrying on the operations.

O

_The blast sent him backwards, and his head hit violently the surface of a command console. His optics shut down under the pain, and he struggled to come back online. When his sight came back, he saw with horror the body of Thundercracker floating beside him, hold by the shoulder by a black robot. He made out the long sword the alien held firmly in his hand, and then noticed the long gash in the chest of Thundercracker. The optics of his wing mate were black and no life seemed to be left on his body._

_Anger had the same effect on him as a high-voltage electric shock. In few seconds, he jumped to his feet and leaped at the murderous robot. The alien set free Thundercracker and crushed Skywarp against the console. Black hands gripped the Seeker's throat, applying a so terrible pressure that Skywarp believed he was to be decapitated. His optics shut down again, until the grip loosened. His relief didn't last long: the sharp blade of his attacker dug in his chest plate, burning the inner wiring. He pushed a last cry and then sank into the darkness of stasis._

--

Skywarp let out a horrified cry. His hand set instinctively on his chest, in search of the wound. To his surprise, he didn't find any hole under his palm. _'A dream... That was the dream of my own death?'_

"Is he online?" inquired a familiar voice, which sent him displeasing waves of anguish through his wires. _'I know this voice,"_ he pondered, searching in his memory bank who it belonged to.

"Skywarp is out of stasis. Thundercracker also… They should wake up soon; it's just a question of minutes."

This second voice, he had also heard it before.

'_Is Thundercracker also here? Where is it?'_

Skywarp managed to power his optics online. The first thing he saw what a gray ceiling of a repair bay. Then he felt that somebody was leaning over him and looked up. The voice and the masked face of the massive Transformer suddenly matched with a loathed name: "Optimus Prime."

Instinctively, he aimed one of his shoulder guns at the face of the Autobot leader and found himself starring at the barrel of a gun, pressed against his forehead.

"No, Rodimus, don't! Step back!" warned Optimus Prime, moving the barrel away from the head of the Seeker. His hand set then on the arm of Skywarp, pushing down the cannon. "Listen to me, Skywarp. We have no intention of hurting you, if you don't attack us," he stated, "Besides, we need to cooperate if we want Megatron and Starscream to stay alive".

The Seeker looked blankly at Optimus Prime, dumbstruck by such a request, coming from the greatest foe of the Decepticon army.

To be continued…

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/6/23)


	6. Ch 6: Welcome back to hell 4

**Chapter 6: Welcome back to Hell (4) - A flyers' revenge**

**Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force; ruins of Tokyo. **

"Don't tell me you believe any of the words that this Autoscum said!" groaned Skywarp, leaning over the form of his wing mate.

"I do," Thundercracker replied as he rested his chin on his knees, his optics obstinately set on nothing.

"You betray the Decepticon's cause!"

"I've always doubted it."

"Can't you see it's a trap, a big lie, a plot hatched by Optimus prime?"

Thundercracker stayed motionless, carefully avoiding a look at Skywarp. The black and purple Seeker stood closer to his wing mate, looking down at him.

"Thundercracker! Look at my optics and tell me why you believe that Optimus told us the truth!"

The blue jet obeyed silently and stood in front of Skywarp, peering straight at the red optics.

"I can't imagine Optimus Prime set a trap like that. He doesn't set traps; it's just not his way of doing things. It's the way of Megatron, not Optimus!"

"You imagine what it does mean if he had really told us the truth!" retorted Skywarp.

Thundercracker lowered his head, obviously confused. "It means that Cybertron had been destroyed. It means also that the war between Decepticons and Autobots is over," he whispered, "The war that both you and me have never really understood is over!"

"You will never give away your doubts about the Decepticons' cause, won't you?" Skywarp sighed. He leaned against the wall, resting his forehead on the metal, "How can you be thrilled about the end of the war, while Cybertron has been destroyed?" he complained softly.

Thundercracker set a comforting hand on Skywarp's shoulder.

"I know it hurts, but we have to focus on the present, not on the past. According to Optimus Prime, the present is Megatron and Starscream being in danger of immediate termination. We have to do something and rescue them."

Skywarp sighed and then nodded in acceptance.

"Good!" Thundercracker turned his head on the direction of the door when it slid open. A tall figure was standing on the threshold of the room.

"Have you taken your decision?" asked Optimus Prime.

The blue Jet turned around to face the Transformer that had been the terror of the Decepticon army during thousands of years.

"Yes. We're going to rescue them."

O

"And I'm going with them!" declared Rodimus Prime, looking at the screen. Thundercracker was carefully checking one of the shoulder guns of Skywarp, oblivious of the camera.

"I don't think it's a very good idea, Rodimus. You didn't exactly introduce yourself very politely to Skywarp. I don't believe that he will react very well when he sees you."

"He can still shoot me if disagrees with my presence!"

"Rodimus!"

The red and yellow car Transformer crossed his arms on his chest. "Prime! I won't let you go… This is a suicidal mission!" he stated.

"It's my idea… I have to go!"

"Why haven't you reactivated Bombshell, by the way? He would have built other Insecticons with Shrapnel, and we could rescue Starscream and Megatron more efficiently!"

Optimus Prime peered at the optics of his lieutenant. He knew the young robot was clever, and it was partly on account of this quality that he had chosen him as second in command.

"Technically, you're right; Bombshell would have been a better choice. Tactically, you're wrong. First, Shrapnel is involved in the attack of the destroyer. That means we would have had to wait for the return of the air fleet to build the Insecticons' armada," he explained. Rodimus nodded in approval. "Second, we agreed that there would be an order in the reactivation of the Decepticons; high ranks first. The Decepticon warriors would follow Megatron, Starscream and maybe Soundwave, but certainly not you, or me!"

Rodimus turned around and walked to the exit of the control room.

"And it's precisely why I don't trust Skywarp and Thundercracker… They are just Decepticon second-class warriors!"

"Where are you going?"

The lieutenant looked at his commander over his shoulder.

"I've told you, I'm going with the two fly-boys. The only way to stop me is to shoot me, but I doubt you resort to such an extreme measure!"

Optimus Prime sighed as the door closed on the retreating back of Rodimus Prime.

* * *

**Tokyo****、****West Shinjuku's ruins…**

The optics of Starscream flickered and then flashed their usual ruby red. The Seeker moaned with pain as he came back online.

"You finally awoke… Good!"

Starscream looked at the owner of the so familiar mocking tone. Megatron was leaning against the opposite wall, busy with attaching wires together. Checking on his left, he first saw his injured shoulder and realized he was not bleeding anymore. Somebody had removed the most damaged wires and rerouted or welded the leaking pipes. He was not sure but he had the feeling it was the work of a professional medic.

"Is it you who fixed me?" he asked, staring at Megatron with disbelief.

"Do you see anybody else around who could have done that?" the silver flyer replied.

_'No! How is it possible he has the knowledge?'_ wondered Starscream, watching more closely what was on his side. He made out a black body, or what was left of it; there was no head and the legs had been separated from the torso. Wires and parts were scattered on the floor around him.

"What are you doing? That's disgusting!" whispered Starscream.

"No, it's not. Stalkers are just robots, empty cans. They have nothing in common with us: no conscience, no spark, no feeling. Nothing. They are just a bunch of spare-parts, obeying to their pilots!"

Megatron had stated those harsh words without looking up. As far as Starscream could see, he was making a kind of rope.

"What are you doing?"

"You'll see… Can you stand up by yourself?"

"I don't know," answered the injured jet, trying to move his body in order to get on his feet. The only result he got was a devastating pain in his shoulder, causing more pain and new moans.

"Looks like you can't," the silver warrior sighed.

Megatron stood up, looking upset and walked to Starscream. He lifted him to his feet and shoved him against his own body. Starscream squirmed with surprise and embarrassment, a little ashamed to be that close to his not so-well appreciated leader. Then, this old troubling feeling squashed his spark and he was paralyzed, his mind clouded by twisted thoughts. He then felt that Megatron was circling his waist and back with something, embarrassingly pulling him even closer to him.

_'With the rope? Wait! What is he playing at?' _he wondered with panic, feeling that he was now completely attached against the torso of Megatron.

"What are you doing, you sick mind? Release me!" he gasped.

Megatron smirked, looking down at him. "What an impolite way to speak to the One who had just patched your wounds, stopped the hemorrhage, managed to recharge you and waited patiently that you were awake!" he chuckled.

Starscream looked down, not daring look at the optics of his "savior".

"I'm attaching you, because I need my hands to use my weapons and fight the Stalker. Your arm is completely useless, and it's obvious you are going to faint before we return to base. Therefore, I prefer taking this precaution. But don't be fooled; I certainly don't appreciate being that close to you. Don't even try to nuzzle my neck!"

Starscream looked up, indignant at the idea.

"I'm not going to nuzzle in your neck!" he grimaced, disgust displayed on his faceplate.

The smirk of Megatron became almost evil.

"I hope so… Otherwise, I drop you!"

O

A sly laugh escaped the lips of Megatron as he saw that Starscream was ashamedly resting his forehead on his chest. Teasing his lieutenant was somehow relaxing for Megatron, enabling him to pretend to be confident, while he was not reassured about their chances of survival. How could he be confident? He had only few hours left to bring Starscream back to the base.

While tending the wounds of Starscream, Megatron had found star-like bullets embedded in the broken wires and melted pipes. Searching in his medical databank, he had found information regarding a virus, developed by the Empire of Salonia to get rid of the Transformers. The trick to inoculate the virus was diabolic; Stalkers' guns were equipped with two barrels, one for shooting laser beams, the other one for launching small bullets filled with germs. Once hit, the victim had twelve hours left before rusting from inside, the virus spreading through the pipes and energon, aiming at the spark. The virus had been particularly lethal at the early times of the war, until Perceptor found an antidote. Anyway, the medicine had to be administered before the virus spread.

Starscream had been shot six hours before, according to Megatron's internal clock. That was half the incubation time… His grip tightened on the Stalker's gun that he held on his right hand, as he got the vision of the Seeker, covered with rust. 'Now, last thing…'

He opened his COM'link and soon heard the familiar voice.

_(Optimus, in.)_

"It's Megatron. Starscream has been fixed, more or less, and can be moved. And, he had star-like bullets in his wounds… I'm ready to take off and head back to base."

The enigmatic sentence left Optimus Prime speechless during few seconds.

_(Copy that. I'm going to send you a flight plan. The general idea is to stay in a high-rise building area, so that you can hide easily.)_

"I see, it's going to be a hide-and-seek play…"

_(You can call it like that. I'm going to send also reinforcement… Besides, you know them very well…)_

Megatron stepped out the hideout and looked carefully at the surroundings. No Stalker was on sight and the dark building was silent.

"Who are you talking about? I don't have time to play riddles!"

_(Skywarp and Thundercracker!)_

The silver flyer smirked wickedly.

"Oh! You've already learned to make yourself obeyed by Decepticons… Congratulation, Prime. You learn fast."

_(I don't know if it's really the case, but anyway, Thundercracker and Skywarp are eager to rescue you.)_

Megatron walked to the edge, looking at the empty space at his feet and then at the gaping ceiling.

"Should I keep the COM'link open, Prime?"

_(Cut it if you prefer, but… It would be easier to follow you if you keep it open.)_

The silver warrior smiled.

"Okay… Prime! Our lives are in your hands."

* * *

**Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force**

"Thank you Megatron! I will try my best… I am sending you the two possible itineraries… Do you copy?"

_(Copied. I will start with plan one. Starscream, ready to take off?) _

Optimus Prime had to increase the sensitivity of his audio sensors to hear the muffled answer and then understood how weak the Seeker was. He quickly searched the frequency of Rodimus Prime COM' link and opened it.

_(Rodimus, in. What's up Optimus?)_

"Megatron and Starscream have left their shelter. Are you ready for taking off?"

* * *

**Departure ramp number 0021**

"Will be ready shortly!"

Rodimus had indeed caught the glare of Skywarp; he instinctively understood he had to settle a very precise disagreement between the Seeker and him.

"I'm back to you in five minutes," he said before cutting the com-link.

O

Skywarp looked at the red and yellow "Autobot" walking to him. He knew that the old factions had disappeared together with Cybertron, but the old name just emerged from the depth of his CPU.

"Why are you coming with us?" the offended seeker asked, "I can remember you don't like Decepticons!"

The one he knew under the name of Rodimus Prime shrugged his shoulders.

"Unfriendly behavior calls unfriendly behavior… You aimed at Optimus Prime with your gun; I pulled mine against your forehead," he answered casually.

_Speaking about guns…_ Skywarp was to raise his weapons when Thundercracker stepped between the two Transformers.

"Hey, I don't think it's really the time for new arguments! We should focus on the rescue of Megatron and Starscream, and let our private quarrels aside!"

It took all his will to Skywarp to admit the blue Seeker was right. That wasn't the first time it happened. Skywarp had for long accepted that Thundercracker, torn between his membership to the Decepticon army and his doubts about the cause of the same faction, had developed a very critical look about his situation. Moreover, he was intelligent. Not as intelligent as Starscream or Megatron - fortunately not, because their intelligence were driving them to the edge of craziness - but enough to understand the different aspects of a problem and give a clear opinion about it. Skywarp had never been a thinker, and he was sure about one thing, he would never become one. This difference in their characters had pushed them to get closer and Skywarp had no shame to say that Thundercracker was his best friend. And maybe… the only one.

He instantly found the way to calm down.

O

Thundercracker saw with relief that both Rodimus and Skywarp were nodding in agreement to his words. Then the car Transformer walked away from them and reached a metal box. He opened it and extracted four long guns, equipped each with twin barrels.

Rodimus Prime walked back to them and held two guns to Thundercracker.

"Do we really need that much extra weaponry?" the Seeker asked.

"If I could carry more, I would take more… It is just hell we're heading to!"

Thundercracker agreed silently and started fixing the two extra weapons under his wings. This technical operation didn't distract him from peeping at Skywarp and Rodimus. He saw with relief that animosity was over – at least, during this critical mission.

A question just popped out his mind.

"Hum, Rodimus… How do you plan to follow us? You're not a flyer, but a car Transformer. You're a kind of... grounded."

Rodimus smirked and then came back to the big box. He extracted a strange device, equipped with wings, and then put it on. Soon, the buzzing of an engine followed, and Thundercracker found himself staring at a hovering Rodimus, prouder than ever.

"That's the latest invention of the technical team… A prototype," he announced with satisfaction. "It makes me possible to follow you without too many problems!"

"What's the autonomy?" asked Thundercracker.

Rodimus grinned: "No idea… It's a prototype!"

Skywarp cracked a smile.

"You are even crazier than I am!" he giggled.

O

"Maybe… Anyway, I don't have any other solution"

His internal radio buzzed, sign that Optimus Prime wanted to know the result of his conversations with the Seekers and the timing of the departure.

"Yes, Optimus… We're ready to go," he replied.

_(Perfect… Megatron is following the Southern path. Try to intercept him as quick as possible. He will be certainly chased by Stalkers very soon, and... Starscream had been infected with the PGK5693 virus!)_

"Copy. We're blasting off immediately!"

_(Good luck!)_

He slipped a glance at Thundercracker and Skywarp, who couldn't hide their impatience to take off. _'Good… It looks like we're going to keep aside our differences, at least, the time of this mission.'_

"Let's go!" he announced.

A shiver ran down his metallic spine when the two Seekers raised their gun-equipped arms and shouted; "Death to the Stalkers!"

* * *

**In the Sky of Micronesia - Attack of a Salonian destroyer**

"Shockwave! We installed the explosive charges… This destroyer will be nothing else but a bad memory within few minutes!" proudly declared Astrotrain.

"Good! I consider that this mission is over and the following one as already started! Optimus Prime has just connected me to Teletran II, and I can trace the position of Megatron and Starscream. Let's go and help them! Mobilize your troops ASAP!"

His orders given, the purple mech took off and left the place in a thunder of thrusters.

"Okay, Sir," Astrotrain muttered, a little surprised by the haste of the cannon Transformer. Shockwave was renowned for his qualities of tactician, especially because he always took a long time to study the situation and never made up his mind without weighing pros and cons.

"Why such a haste? News about Megatron and Starscream mustn't be that good!"

Astrotrain turned around and saw Blitzwing, staring at the shape of Shockwave, becoming smaller and smaller as he flew away the Destroyer.

"I guess so… I'm going to contact Skyfire, Dirge, Silverbot and co, so that they follow Shockwave. Do you know where Shrapnel is? He broke into the ship some minutes after us."

"Don't know, and don't want to know… Damned cockroach!" Blitzwing mumbled, pouting.

O

"Shrapnel? Shrapnel!"

The stag beetle Transformer turned around to face the triple-changer who had just called his name. He saw that Blitzwing face outlined a sign of disgust.

"Shrapnel! Stop that!"

The Insecticon swallowed the Stalker's hand that he was chewing up and pretended to the most innocent expression.

"I've done nothing bad… nothing bad!"

"You're just a sorry necrophagous! Come and blast off, the destroyer is going to explode in two minutes!"

A storm of very not so valuating words fell on Shrapnel while a firm hand gripped his antennas. The Insect lost contact with the ground, squirming in protest.

"Can I take a control panel, at least? Just for the flight… Flight?"

"**NO!"**

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, South part of the city**

The com-link had been cut but that was not the main source of his concerns.

Megatron flipped over to face the Stalker. He felt the head of Starscream hurting violently his chest but didn't even mind the pain in his torso, or the shock inflicted to the Seeker. The only thought that was crossing his CPU was to kill the Stalker before it killed them both.

He fired with his null-rays; the shot hit his pursuer on the chest, sending electric shocks through the black body. The stalker slowly went down, and when he hovered at the same level as Megatron, the silver warrior shot him mercilessly.

Megatron didn't take care to the cloud of dust created by the blast. He swooped down and banked on his left to avoid another shot, coming from a second Stalker. He increased his speed, skimming to the surface of the buildings in random zigzags. He felt that Starscream was clinging to him, his still valid hand clenched around his left shoulder.

O

Starscream tried to open his optics but a glitch in his system controlling his sight left him blind. He could feel the rough changes of direction performed by Megatron and the wind biting his frame. Usually, he would have loved that kind of race in the sky of an Earthlings' city. But due to his weakness, he just felt sick. Wind and jolts were not the most terrible; no, the most terrifying were the feelings of Megatron that he could read from the hammering of his fuel pomp and the frequency of his energy field. Megatron felt like a hunted animal, doubting more and more about their survival.

A new jolt sent Starscream's forehead crashing against the metallic armor of Megatron. A little dizzy, he heard the fusion cannon's shot, soon followed by an explosion. Then other laser shots replied to the shot of the Decepticon leader.

Starscream decided to stop reading the thoughts of Megatron and clung to his shoulder with all his might. The only thing that he had to do was trying to survive...

* * *

**Somewhere in the sky, between Micronesia and Japan**

Skyfire reached Shockwave and Astrotrain, who were flying at the head of the formation. The white shuttle couldn't help but feel impressed by the capacities of Shockwave. In cannon position, he could fly at a remarkable speed, matching with the average jets. His swoops down were equally deadly.

"Skyfire to report, Sir. The fleet has cleared the area. We're waiting for your orders."

"We keep the same organization as for the destroyer," the purple Transformer laconically replied.

"Yes Sir."

"And last thing," Shockwave said, lowering the tone of his vocal processor, "When we find Megatron, not a word about who you know. Prime and I haven't decided yet how we're going to tell Megatron that HE has been also reactivated."

O

The whole structure of the destroyer swelled under the blow of the explosion. The walls crackled and shattered, freeing the flames of what looked like the representation of Hell. The remains of the destroyer, transformed into a sun, sank slowly in the sea, adding new shades of red color to the sunset.

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, South part of the City**

Megatron ducked the shot of the Stalker who was the closest to him and fired, sending his enemy to oblivion. He heard the building behind him collapse and realized that he was encircled by a dozen of Stalkers.

_'I'm going to kill each of you!'_ he swore to himself, aware that he couldn't. His energon ran cold when a shot grazed his back; he hadn't seen it coming. The unpleasant thought that the situation was running out of control struck him like thunder. He had no idea of escape.

"You should fire the Stalker on the left and try to force the way in," whispered a familiar screechy voice.

He looked down at the Seeker; Starscream had managed to stay awoke and was looking with dim optics at the battle scene.

"Shut up! Starscream! You stay online and me, I manage to bring us back to base!"

The Seeker obediently shifted his head back against Megatron's chest. The silver flyer growled with satisfaction and fired as suggested. The Stalker, completely disoriented by the null-ray shot, exploded when a second shot tore his body into pieces. Megatron took advantage of the thick smoke and flew through the opening, pushing back another Stalker that was too close. He then pushed on his thrusters and flew full-speed, straight at the nearest block of skyscrapers. His escape didn't last long; his right shoulder and wing were torn apart by a very precise laser fire. Sparks of electricity and energon spurted out the wounds, sending a jolt of pain to his processors. Overload made him blind and deaf. He just felt that he was falling.

O

"Over there!"

Rodimus Prime pointed at a large avenue bordered with the ruins of high buildings. Few metres away, lights were twinkling in a shamble of half-destroyed walls. The two jets switched to their robot mode and scanned the same area.

"Megatron had certainly fallen in an ambush… We have to go!" Skywarp exclaimed.

"I can't see neither Megatron nor the Stalkers!" noticed Thundercracker, "They must fly at low altitude or maybe just walk!"

Rodimus Prime nodded then pointed his gun in the direction of the lights.

"Seekers! Attack!"

O

Megatron had fallen. He couldn't remember exactly why, but he knew that he had fallen to the ground after being shot down. A throbbing pain in his back, wings and limbs, was here to testify of it. He was also blind and deaf, which added to the panic squashing his spark. He had to move if he didn't want to be terminated.

Slowly, his audio receptors came back online, allowing him to catch the familiar noise of a riffle, firing mercilessly. He felt a lightweight squirming on top of him and heard a familiar voice throwing death threats to an invisible enemy.

"Starscream!"

Megatron forced his optics online; the first sight he caught was the obsidian face and crown of Starscream. The Seeker was still attached but had managed to free his functionning arm. He was the perfect representation of anger, venting his wrath on two Stalkers, who stood still some metres away. Repetitive null-rays shots had certainly overloaded their circuits, and they were unmoving. Survival instinct took the better of him, and he executed the two robots without hesitation. He didn't look at the now familiar sight of their explosion, staring down at his Seeker. Exhausted, Starscream was lying still against him.

"Starscream!" he cried, gently shaking his Air Commander. He felt a kind of relief when a moan escaped the lips of the little flyer.

"I assumed you were… deactivated," Starscream trembled and leaned in his embrace as in search of protection. "I tried to defend myself!"

"Deactivated? Me? Never!" spat Megatron, aware that his own voice had lost all force of conviction.

Ignoring the pain that radiated from his back, he scrambled to his feet, his shaking carcass rising from the ground with the still body of Starscream in his arms. Struggling to keep his balance, he quickly scanned the surroundings in search of a hideout, when he saw four Stalkers landing not far away from them.

He did the only that made sense to him: he ran away.

O

The walls, desperately too short to hide behind, were passing by in front of his optics. Megatron increased his pace as the heavy footsteps of his pursuers announced him that the hunt was open. And they were the preys. He suddenly made out a grayish building, higher than the others. For sure the Stalkers would have a look first there, but anyway, he could try to trap them in an ambush. 'With some luck, they will fall in the trap!' he reflected. He swallowed the last few metres, and ran in, in search of a hideout far from the entrance.

He hid behind the wall of a hangar area and came to a stand still. Footsteps were muffled but still present and growing louder.

"We're doomed," whined Starscream, shifting his head to look up at Megatron.

"Shut up! You're delirious… Stay online, it's the only thing I ask you!" he spat back.

"Now, tell me… Why?"

Megatron flinched with surprise at the low level of the voice. Never before Starscream had been that... vulnerable.

"Why… what?" he softly asked.

"Why have you never executed me for all my treacheries and disloyalty toward you?"

Megatron negatively shook his head.

"No, we made a deal. I'll tell you when we're back to the base!" he replied.

"But, I might…"

Starscream didn't end his sentence but Megatron could read in his optics what he meant to say: 'I might not make it to the base… And you know it'. The tyrant ceded.

"I've never killed you because, first, the army was short in warriors, and I couldn't afford losing an officer so stupidly."

A laser shot blew out an outside wall.

"Secondly, I've always thought that, despite your miserable temper, you were a good warrior, and an excellent Air Commander. I don't shoot people who are competent, even if they try to stab me in the back. I rather try to handle them."

Another shot blasted the entrance of the building.

"Third, I've never understood why you suddenly came to hate me and try to kill me. But I swear, I'll find the truth, one day!"

Starscream's optics flickered and shut down as his whole body went completely lip.

"You miserable traitor, even for this you have to betray me!" Megatron growled, shaking Starscream to force him to come back online. To what he had to admit was relief, the optics of the Seeker flashed of a weak red.

"Listen, little traitor! I've decided of another deal; we come back to base, and you tell me why you hate me!"

Heavy feet were now pounding the ground, nearby the entrance of their shelter.

"It doesn't matter anymore… We're doomed…Let me die!" the Seeker muttered.

"**No! We're not! We're doomed when I decide we are, and now, I'm just not in the mood of being doomed!" **yelled Megatron.

The gray mech felt the familiar anger created by the stubbornness of Starscream rising, altogether with a sudden and unbearable urge to shoot and rip open four black giant robots. 'Enough of this Hell! I'm going to show them from which metal I've been made!'

Megatron jumped out of his hideout, aiming with his fusion cannons at two Stalkers.

O

The two targets burst into shards of metal as a savage "Death to Stalkers!" froze on the spot both Megatron and the two other black robots. A single shot sent to oblivion a third one and a very angry purple black Seeker tackled the survivor, pinning him on the ground. A vindictive hand dug on the dark chest, shattering the cockpit and flattening the command room, while another one grabbed the head and ripped it off.

"Skywarp!" whispered Megatron, looking with utter surprise at the predator. The angry optics of the Seeker softened somehow when he recognized who had called him.

"Easy Warp!" said a second familiar voice.

Thundercracker emerged from the smoke of the explosion. He set a hand on the shoulder of a panting Skywarp, and then walked to Megatron, optics full of emotions and surprise. The silver warrior had also hard time to believe the scene was real.

"Sir… Megatron… We've come to save you!"

O

They came outside just at the time Rodimus Prime ripped away the bottom part of the jaw of a Stalker and finished him by a shot in the chest.

"Can you fly?" he shouted at Megatron. The silver warrior understood the underneath message, meaning; "You have to fly now". He carefully tried to fold his wings but the pain that followed was almost unbearable. He managed somehow to show nothing to the three Transformers. Fly, maybe, but slowly.

"No, you can't…" whispered Starscream.

Megatron looked down at the Seeker. He wasn't surprised the little fool had caught a part of his thoughts and feelings. They were too close physically, the energy fields of their armors were almost entangling. A chance he hadn't read anything about the virus.

"Oh yes! I can! Who do you think I am?" retorted Megatron, the most threateningly as possible.

"Why are you so afraid for me? What's going to happen to me in two hours?"

The optics of the Decepticon leader narrowed to a slit.

"Shut up, Starscream! How many times will have I to tell you to concentrate on staying online! Even wounded, you're a true pain in the after-burners!"

His voice expressed a perfectly faint indignation. The Seeker replied nothing, coming back to his silent mode.

"We have to go now, Megatron… Other Stalkers are to come… The city is just part of their base," warned Rodimus.

Instead of replying to the young Autobot, the silver flyer powered his engines and pushed on his thrusters. He took off slowly and stopped when he reached five or six metres above the ground.

"Does it answer any of your questions?"

O

It took only few minutes for other Stalkers to come and chase them. Megatron had received the order to take care of Starscream and fly back to the base, while Rodimus, Thundercracker and Skywarp were covering them. The Decepticon leader had of course protested and abandoned before the stubbornness of Rodimus Prime. Was it the prerogative of all second in commands?

Giving away his thoughts, he realized the sky has darkened, now filled with angry Stalkers. Soon, his three "guardian angels" would be outnumbered and shot down. A kind of dizziness overtook him and an immediate future of torments flashed before his eyes.

'Buzzing… Engine's buzzing…' he thought. 'No, just a glitch in my logical system… Nobody else is coming for rescue!'

To his surprise, the buzzing became a big rumble, and soon, the metallic black sky was filled with a thunder of mechanical noises. Forty? Maybe fifty engines were heading to them. One was flying very quickly and Megatron could feel anger and hatred through the vibrations of the motor. He heard the noise of the Transformer's mode changing and found himself staring at a single gold optic, embedded in a purple frame. Shockwave didn't look at him very long, flying directly to Rodimus Prime.

Then came the others. Blitzwing and Astrotrain passed him; the first one fired straight at the Stalkers, while the second took a little time to look at his leader before following the example of his "brother".

Dirge was the next one. His con-headed face expressed surprise, then deep concerns… Megatron could understand it: what awful sight he offered with a dying Seeker clung awkwardly to him!

The Conehead waved his hand and Megatron felt like thunder struck him. Earthlings' jets swooped down from nowhere, bearing the same weapons as their Transformer comrades, prompted by the same determination of destroying the enemy.

Megatron suddenly felt his fuel pomp almost jumping out of his chest and his body tensing with… fear. He could feel Starscream shivering with the same feeling. The old enemies, the ones that had threatened the supremacy of the Decepticons in the sky, flew around them. To his relief, none of the Aerialbots looked at them, too focused on the next target to slaughter.

His logic system almost disrupted when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He instinctively drove the barrel of his right fusion cannon to the forehead of the impudent robot. The dark silver Transformer grinned at him and gestured to a big white shuttle waiting behind him.

"Please board him… We don't have so much time!"

Megatron didn't lower his cannon.

"Who are you?"

"A friend of Starscream, from the Decepticon army," softly explained the mech, a big smile on his face. "My name is Octane… I was one of your foot soldiers, Sir, based on Cybertron… And this is-"

The silver warrior grimaced with disgust.

"And this is this traitor of Skyfire!"

"I don't think it's the good time for this, Megatron!" the shuttle replied, "We have a very short time left to save Starscream!"

Megatron finally lowered his cannons.

"We have one hour and twenty five minutes!"

O

Rodimus Prime didn't even have a look behind to recognize the new comers.

"Sorry, we're late for the "warming-up party… Any "snacks" left?" asked Shockwave.

"I'm sure our friends the Stalkers are ready to welcome you anytime!" the red and yellow mech replied, the same irony filling his voice.

Other Transformers landed around them, followed by earthlings' jet. In less than a minute, a real army was facing the Stalkers.

"What do you suggest?" asked Rodimus, "We entertain them just the time Megatron and Starscream clear the place, or-"

"It's time to remind the Salonia Empire that we can also bite!"

Rodimus Prime smiled at the answer of the Cyclops. It suited him perfectly.

O

The door closed on the lights of the lasers; the Cybertronians had launched their attack on the Stalkers. Megatron had no difficulty to imagine that none of the robots and their human allies would come back to base before having destroyed a certain number of Stalkers. There was too much determination in their optics for that.

"How is he?" asked Skyfire.

"Not well…" Megatron set Starscream free from the net of wires and gently lied him down. "I would say, close to stasis mode…" he added, "How long will it take to the base?"

"Twenty minutes. We are not so far away and the Stalkers are busy. There should be no more obstacles."

Megatron looked up; he had always hated being inside a shuttle Transformer. The robot could talk to you but there was no way you could see his faceplate. He was just all around. In the case of Skyfire, anyway, faceplate or not, he didn't like him.

"If you say so," he coldly replied.

A blue hand gripped one of his wrists and a weak whisper called his name.

"Don't talk. Stay still. Skyfire is flying to the base… Will be there soon!" said Megatron, bending over Starscream.

"Skyfire," The red optics looked up and stared vacantly at the ceiling, then the grip at his wrist tightened. "Megatron… I must tell you now… Just in case..."

"Tell me what?"

"Why I came to hate you and try to kill you…"

Megatron understood immediately what Starscream was plotting.

"Oh no! Starscream! You won't fool me again! Those slag Stalkers haven't shot me for nothing! Don't even try to shut you down. I can tell you I'll send you an electric charge that will bring you online right away!"

Starscream looked up and Megatron could see the utter surprise and the dizziness they were filled with.

"I won't," murmured the Seeker after a few seconds.

"Good"

"G - L - T - R - 1 - 1 - 9..."

"What?"

Megatron felt almost a shock when the Seeker spelled the code again.

"GLTR119… It's the prisoner number GLTR119 of the Decepticon detention center… He said that… If I wouldn't overthrow you, you would just kill me, like my predecessor… and my family..."

The body of Megatron shivered with both deep surprise and growing anger. Looking down at the Seeker, he read fear on the two blood-colored mirrors.

"Starscream… Enough!" he gasped.

The Seeker didn't complain, not even dared looking at his commander.

'The prisoner number GLTR119 of the Decepticon detention center… So, HE told the truth, HE will never let me in peace…'

**To be continued...**

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/6/23)


	7. Ch 7: A Cassettes' Blues

**Chapter 7: A cassettes' blues**

**Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force**

Medical Repair bay #2036, the day following the rescue of Megatron and Starscream

Megatron folded back his wings, then stretched them and noticed with satisfaction that they were completely repaired. Gone also was the pain in his back and shoulders, where broken wires had produced the effect of hundreds knives stabbing the area at the same time.

"You can leave the repair bay and come back to your quarters," informed Wheeljack.

Megatron looked back to the engineer and threw him a questioning glance; a large part of simple information regarding his activity during the past hours was purely missing in his memory bank.

"How did I get there?" he finally asked.

"You were both unconscious, Starscream and you, when Skyfire landed on the base. Optimus Prime brought you here."

The Decepticon leader grimaced at the thought that he had displayed weakness to the shuttle and the truck Transformers.

"How long have I been in stasis?"

"Twelve Hearth hours, just the time for me to repair your back."

"I see… and Starscream?" asked the silver Transformer, pretending to indifference.

"He's still in stasis mode. Perceptor treated the virus and now, I guess Hook and Ratchet are tending his wounds. Don't worry!"

Megatron glared at the masked Transformer and forced an expression of disdain to appear on his faceplate.

"I don't worry for this little fool!"

"Yes, sure… You have just risked your life to save him!" Wheeljack objected.

"Wrong! I was trapped with him in the city… and," Megatron replied. "And… Wait! I don't have to justify myself or my acts to anybody!" he angrily added.

"Anyway, you can come back tomorrow morning. Starscream will be ready to leave the repair bay."

Megatron shrugged his shoulders with disdain and walked to the exit.

"I am not his creator, no more his commander and certainly not a friend. He can go out by himself!" he coldly retorted.

Wheeljack shook his head in disapproval. "Stupid One! It has never killed a Transformer to admit he was worried for another!"

O

Outside the repair-bay, the mood of Megatron didn't improve when he found himself staring at the blue optics and the masked face of Optimus Prime, who welcomed him with a "Nice to see you feel better!". Megatron felt the need to punch the face - in absence of the mouth - that had pronounced such an inappropriate sentence.

"Oh! Nice to have the Autobot leader welcoming me at the door of a repair bay!" he muttered. He walked past the tall red robot, refusing obstinately to have a look at him.

"We don't use words such as "Autobots" or "Decepticons" anymore. I've already told you!"

"Yes, yes… What do you want, Prime?" Megatron replied with annoyance.

"We plan to reactivate Soundwave today."

Megatron stopped walking and looked back to his old enemy. He knew already what he was to hear next. Something like: "And we need you… He was one of your high rank officers, after all!" The Silver flier walked to Optimus and stared at him threateningly.

"If you want to awake him, you will have to do so under my guidance!"

O

The two old enemies were silently walking side by side. Thousands of thoughts were torturing the CPU of Megatron, and one in particular. _'Has Starscream told me the truth? Was it really the prisoner GLTR119 who had corrupted him, or was it a new lie, made up by this little upstart to hide his true reason?'_ He was tempted to believe the second possibility, but couldn't imagine how Starscream had become aware of the existence of the so-called prisoner. He had made sure the prisoner would never surface from his prison, where he had been locked in the greatest secrecy, with the help of Shockwave. Very aware of the past of Starscream and his long absence from Cybertron, Megatron doubted that he had met the prisoner before his imprisonment. Starscream should have been guided to his cell. There, lied a mystery; the prisoner was supposed to be in stasis mode when imprisoned. He couldn't have contacted Starscream by himself; it implied that Shockwave had lied about the stasis mode, or that GLTR119 had an accomplice.

_Slag it! All those suppositions just go around in circles!'_ he cursed. A hiss escaped his lips, maybe a little too loudly. Optimus Prime stared at him with this disgustingly protective expression in his optics.

"Any concerns? You know, Starscream is in good hands, he's going to be fine!" he assured.

_'Slag it!'_ Now, Megatron wanted to rip the spark out of Optimus Prime's body and do away with this gaze full with compassion. _'I don't care about the little fool! And if I look concerned, it's only because he knows something about the prisoner GLTR119. Only because of that!'_ He was to yell this at Optimus Prime when a new idea went through his CPU, and his energon ran cold. How much did Optimus Prime know about the prisoner? That was something he had to check, but he could do it only after interrogating Shockwave and of course, Starscream. _'Slag it! Slag it! And once again… SLAG it!'_ he cursed inwardly.

"I was just wondering in what kind of flying creep you had transformed me," he answered. Pure excuse: he didn't care at all about his alt mode and would see it when transforming. To his irritation, the optics of Optimus Prime flashed with amusement.

"You still haven't tried to transform?"

"Are you deaf or what? I said I'm just wondering in which flying creep you had transformed me before trying it! Answer my question!"

"Well, you're a kind of shuttle, like-"

The spark of Megatron almost jumped out of his chest, and he really felt the utter need to blow the head of Optimus. _'The bastard! He had just remodeled me like this fool!'_ he thought with anger.

"Skyfire! You remodeled me as Skyfire!" His index pointed accusingly to the face of Optimus Primus, and thanks to gravity - and the arm it was attached to - so did the fusion cannon. "I should blast you for that! You know very well I hate him!" he shrieked.

"Calm down and let me finish! No, not like Skyfire… Your design is more like Astrotrain's actually," said Optimus. He grasped the wrist of Megatron and oriented the cannon in another direction. The silver robot moved away his arm, annoyed.

"I hope for you, Prime! There are some things I will never accept!"

O

Optimus Prime stared at Megatron walking away from him and sighed.

"I can't believe somebody can be that grumpy! And of course, not even a "thank you"!"

* * *

Medical Repair bay #2025

There was a disturbing contrast between the reaction of Megatron or Starscream, and the current behavior of Soundwave. The former cassette deck, now converted into a flier, was staring at the five Transformers gathered in front of him. He had silently listened to the explanations of Optimus Prime and Megatron, without showing any reaction. The story of the attack of the Nemesis and the end of Cybertron hadn't even caused a flinch or a word. Megatron knew that his communication officer had always been a cold and levelheaded mech, but nevertheless, he found this absence of reaction unnerving. He was almost ready to yell at him and order to shout or cry and break this anxious silence. _'Well, do or say something, Soundwave!'_ he fulminated.

After a long moment of complete stillness, Soundwave seemed to come back to life; his hand traveled to his chest and a discrete glow appeared on his optics. He had certainly noticed that it was now plain, while it should have been an empty place, ready to welcome smaller Transformers.

"Where are my cassettes?" he asked of his monotonous voice.

"We haven't brought them back online yet," explained Wheeljack. He glanced at Optimus Prime, silently questioning about the answer he should give.

"Maybe we should wait later," answered Optimus Prime.

Megatron saw once again a light flashing on the optics of his former communication officer; this time, it was more a sign of despair than anything else.

"Optimus!" he called, turning to his old nemesis, "Bring them back to life also. They are indispensable for Soundwave."

Optimus Prime nodded in acceptance.

* * *

Quarters of Megatron, the same day at night

Megatron shifted his position on his recharge berth and sighed.

"Bring them back to life also. They are indispensable for Soundwave," he repeated.

For once in his long life, he was ready to admit that his decision was questionable. The reunion scene between Soundwave and his cassettes had been particularly disturbing. The former cassette deck hadn't changed his mute attitude while the smaller Transformers had reacted in a more adequate way to the now familiar story; cries, panic, pure denial of the reality. Megatron had to yell at them to calm down to obtain silence. Then, again, Soundwave hadn't said a word.

"As if I needed a new problem… That was well enough with Starscream!" he muttered, staring at the ceiling. He shut off his optics in the hope of falling quickly into recharge. Something told him that he wouldn't rest that easily.

* * *

Not far away, in the corridor…

"Please.follow.me… This.is.the.direction!"

Thundercracker threw an interrogative glance to Skywarp, who replied by the same.

"Hum…Blurr… What did you say?" he asked.

"Sorry,I.am.a.little.quick.when.talking…I.have.said.that.you.just.had.to.follow.me, it.is.the.direction.of.your.quarters."

"I see…"

No, actually Thundercracker "saw" nothing, but he shrugged his shoulder and decided not to ask any further questions in order to stop the torrent of words that the blue mech was speaking at an impressive speed.

_(I think the guy has a problem with his vocal processor!)_ he said to Skywarp through a personal COM'link.

_(Yes, I'd like to rip it out of his gut! It's a real torture!)_ the black and purple mech muttered before coming back to his absentminded expression.

Thundercracker wondered if the silence of his wing mate was due to his general exhaustion or simply the hangover consecutive to the over-energization of the previous night. Both of them were not supposed to be reactivated that soon in the original plans of Shockwave, and nothing was ready to welcome them. Not even temporary quarters. Astrotrain and Blitzwing had decided to stay with them in the hanger and celebrate the success against the destroyer and the rescue of Megatron and Starscream. Soon Dirge and Octane had joined, and the Energon cubes had followed. The last thing Thundercracker recollected was the bottom of his cube, almost empty. He reached the conclusion that he had passed out after, as usual. A next image was related to the moment he had woken up the following day- this morning - on the quarters of Astrotrain. According to the few words that his fellow drinkers had exchanged, he understood it had been a heavy-drinking party and that they all had spent the whole day in recharge.

_'Primus, a hangover could be as painful as an Autobot's shot in the head!'_ he concluded. Now, his CPU had absorbed somehow the excess of Energon and he could process some ideas. But not too much, though.

The blue mech walking before them turned around and Thundercracker felt the pain in his metallic cranium revive in anticipation of the new salvo of words the Cybertronian parrot was to inflict them.

"This.is.the.best.part.of.the.base, I.think, It.had.been.totally.repaired.and.converted.after.the.storming.of.the.ship!"

_'It hurts!'_ thought Thundercracker, pressing a hand to his forehead. A glance to Skywarp assured him that the long tongue of Blurr had the same effect on the CPU of his friend.

"It'.s.also.not.so.far.away.the.departure.ramp.and.in.case.of.attack.you.can.very.quickly.be.ready.to.take.off!"

Thundercracker nodded weakly.

"And.do.you.know.also.that.we're.going.to.be.neighbours?It.is.why.Optimus.asked.me.to.guide.you.to.your.quarters."

Torture reaching an unbearable limit, the blue jet switched off his audios.

* * *

Quarters of Soundwave

The situation was awkward and disturbing to the highest point. Not exactly what Soundwave needed at the time; what he wanted to get was a long night of recharge, with his cassettes in security in his chest. But he knew he wouldn't be allowed this rest. He might be able to fall in recharge that night but never his cassettes would find sleep inside him anymore. Once again, his hand went to his chest, where Jet's fuel pomp, powerful engines and guidance systems had replaced the complex audio equalizers and the comfortable compartments.

"Soundwave!" called Rumble.

All cocky humor had left from his voice. The blue mech turned his vacant stare to the cassette and his brothers, feeling again the awkwardness of the situation. Things seemed so familiar and on the same time, so different from the past. The five cassettes were waiting in line in front of him, except that their optics didn't express the usual excitement preceding a mission. It was showing uncertainty.

"You can't stay with me tonight," Soundwave replied without emotion. "You should go to the quarters that had been fitted for you."

"Why? We've always been all together! Why do we have to leave?" whined Frenzy.

"Yeah! There is no reason! We're all back online… I don't understand why you ask us to leave!" yelled Rumble.

Buzzsaw, Lazerbeak and Ravage growled on their own electronic language, impenetrable for flesh creatures and even some Transformers but so familiar to Soundwave. However, the only reaction that the former Decepticon officer displayed was indifference. Already sat on his recharge berth, he lay down as if he had completely forgotten he had guests in his room.

"Soundwave! Please…"

O

No reply came. The five little mechanical creatures waited in hope of an encouraging sign from their master, an attention from the one they considered like a father. Minutes ticked by in silence. Ravage finally set his muzzle on Rumble's shoulder, interrogatively squealing while the two metallic birds were calking around Frenzy.

"Come Rumble… Let's go to OUR quarters," suggested the red bot to his twin.

The purple little Transformer threw a sudden and hateful glare in the direction of Soundwave.

"You're right… Let's leave… The big guy doesn't care about us anymore!"

O

The door shut as muffled footsteps died away. Soundwave shut off his optics, almost begging for the emptiness of recharge taking him.

* * *

**Next morning**

Medical Repair bay #2036

Ratchet leaned forward to better review the figures on the screen.

"Is he going to be fine?" asked Skywarp, peeping at a silent Starscream, sat on the edge of the repair berth.

The medic grinned and switched off the device.

"He's fine. His main functions are back to normal," he replied, walking to the white and red seeker. Skywarp and Thundercracker couldn't help being surprised by Starscream's docility. The former Air Commander didn't even try to recoil when the Autobot medic grabbed his wrist. They both knew that the old factions had been abolished but anyway, Screamer was wide out of the mark.

_(You think what I think?)_ asked Skywarp through the usual COM'link.

_(Yes. Something had happened on those ruins between the two. Had they gotten all of it? Million years of arguments? That would explain why Megatron made his best to save him…)_

_(And why he looked like a zombie when we bumped into him…)_

_(Oh! Yes, today's morning… When we were on the way to this repair bay.)_

Thundercracker could remind the face of the tyrant when they had met him in the hallway, few minutes before. Even back to the worst days of the war, Thundercracker had never seen a so worried expression on the grey faceplate. Megatron had walked to them, looked up and let out a weak but anyway clear "Thank you". That had just frozen them on the spot; the two Seekers had expected a cold glance, or even nothing. Certainly not a "Thank you".

O

Megatron stepped silently in the repair bay and kept hidden in the darkness of one of its corner. He hadn't expected to find Skywarp and Thundercracker there. As far as he could remember, the three have never shared a good relationship with Starscream since the Nightbird incident. Megatron had to admit that his Air Commander had been a bastard without distinction of rank. The two jets had always been in the second line - after him - to enjoy the neurosis of the little fool.

_'Why are they here? What is that box?_'

Megatron increased the sensitivity of his audio; soon the voice of Ratchet became clearer and clearer.

O

"What is that?" asked Starscream, looking at the square box that Ratchet offered to him.

"It's… well… Your partner in life!" answered Ratchet.

The Seeker looked skeptically at the "gift". He grabbed the box with a trembling hand and then opened it: a dozen of flasks, filled with a gold liquid, were fitted inside. Ratchet grabbed his right wrist, his skilful fingers activating a mechanism unknown to him. A panel slid open on a cavity in which two other flasks were already set.

"I believed I was cured," whispered Starscream. "Wasn't I?"

"No, you're not. No Transformer can be cured from the virus, but its effects can be frozen."

The so clear answer made his knees buckle. That was like a shot from Megatron, except one thing: once blasted, he usually shut down and waited to be repaired by the Constructicons. Now, that was different: the threat wouldn't disappear even if he passed out. It was inside him, forever.

"Can't you remove my spark from my body and transfer in another one, not infected? Rebuild a body, like you did for Megatron!" he asked, his screechy voice trembling.

"No, it would be useless. That's not your body that is infected: it's your spark!"

Starscream would have certainly fallen back if Skywarp and Thundercracker hadn't both caught his arms, provided him the strength that this last statement had completely drained.

O

Megatron looked closely at the expression of the Seeker; he hadn't seen such an amount of despair on his faceplate for a very long time. He decided that he would wait that Starscream came back to his quarter and had some rest, before interrogating him.

* * *

The cassettes' quarters

Transformers can dream or have nightmares. Rumble was now certain of that, thanks to the past night. He had been unable to enjoy recharge circles up to thirty minutes. Every time he had tried to shut off his optics, memories of all the time spent with Soundwave and the other cassettes came back to beset him. He could remember the first day that he had been put on line: the first face he had seen was Soundwave. From the very first time of his existence, the cassette deck had been his boss, his guardian, his guide and his friend. That just couldn't end so stupidly!

Rumble rose from his recharge berth and looked down at his twin; thanks to their small size, the two minibots had shared the same berth. So were doing Ravage with the two bird 'Cons, on the second berth. As he could have heard, recharge time hadn't been that pleasant for his "brothers" as well. He had heard Frenzy mumbling meaningless words several times and the three others had come three or four several times online.

'_This is so gross!' _

The way Soundwave was reacting was an outrageous nonsense. Rumble understood that his body had been completely redesigned and that the cassette deck had been changed to a flyer. He knew very well what it meant: he and his brothers would never find a place in the comfortable compartments of Soundwave's chest. Anyway, that was not a reason to throw away million years of friendship!

"I must speak to him… He must understand that everything his not over."

Rumble silently walked to the door, decided to act. He slipped discreetly into the hallway, taking care to not awake his brothers.

O

Rumble walked in hurry to the quarters of Soundwave, close to the room he had spent the night. He feverishly pushed the command but the door remained obstinately closed.

"Slag it! He locked the door after us! I won't give up that easily!" he growled.

The little purple robot started to hit with his fist the gray and metallic surface of the door. He might be small, but nevertheless, even without using his pile drivers, his arms had enough strength to damage a door as massive as the one he was working on.

"Soundwave! Open this damned door! I wanna speak to you!" he yelled.

No answer came.

"Soundwave! You don't have the right to leave us like that!"

Still no answer.

"Soundwave! You Bastard! Open that slagging door or I turn it into scraps!"

Silence echoed to him, punctured by his desperate hits against the door's panel. Soon, he didn't find the will to howl with rage. His action was vain, he knew it: Soundwave would never open this door. He had decided to cut the links with his cassettes and nothing would change his mind.

Rumble finally rested his forehead on the cold metal. His hands hurt from the repetitive shock against the hard alloy.

"I hate you!" he shouted in a last attempt to break the decision of his former master.

O

Soundwave flinched at the last shout. He looked at the door, suddenly hesitant on what he had to do. Soon his logic took the upper hand on his emotions; he was now a flyer, not a cassette deck. He wouldn't be able to protect the cassettes; they will have to fight on their own from this day forwards. He had even thought to ask Blaster, the Autobot cassette deck, to take care of them. The idea seemed nonsense, but he hadn't given it up completely.

He finally came back to his unmoving position, vacantly staring into space. _'I took the right decision,'_ he reflected, trying to forget the pain he was causing to himself and to his cassettes.

* * *

Starscream's quarters

To the surprise of Megatron, Starscream hadn't locked the door. He pushed the entry button and looked inside. Despite the darkness, he spotted the Seeker in a blink of the optics. Starscream was curled on his recharge berth, showing his back. He stepped in and quickly picked the stress that was filling the Seeker's energy field.

"It's not exactly as if you were going to die… Ratchet said you had to make sure you always have the medicine with you."

"What do you care? Were you spying at me? As usual?" was the ungentle reply. The Seeker turned over to face his former commander. "And, anyway, I don't care… Go straight to the point and let my little weakness aside. You came here because you wanted to know about the prisoner GLTR119. That's your only purpose, isn't it?"

Megatron smirked. "No, incorrect statement, little fool. I want to know why you suddenly came to hate me. It looks like it's linked to prisoner GLTR119."

He was expecting some unpleasant comments, but the Seeker just curled up even more on his bed, hiding his face between his hands.

"You want to know? So, then, listen to my story!"

Megatron leaned against the door. His hand reached the control panel and locked the access. He didn't want anybody to interfere with this discussion.

"It happened the day following my nomination as Air Commander… I was happy, walking down the hallway of the Decepticon History Museum. I was really radiant you nominated me as your Air Commander. It put me fourth in command, right after Shockwave and Soundwave. I felt honored to a point you could hardly imagine. Nonetheless you have saved my life when I crashed on Cybertron, but you had also given me a future. You had introduced me to the Decepticon Academy and then hired into your army, giving me possibilities of evolution, that I would have never dared thinking about. I wanted to thank you for your trust… Make you proud of me… Repay you for all the honors you had graced me with… Therefore, I went there. I wanted to learn about you, and about the Decepticons' history. How you raised them from an obscure faction to the dominant leading party. Then, it called me… I understood that this place was not only a museum: it was also a prison where you sealed your opponents to an eternal silence!" Starscream shivered and curled up even more, becoming smaller than he had ever looked before. "I can't say more," he moaned in pain. "I don't want to remember!"

Megatron walked to the quivering body of his former second in command. "Then, let me see!" he whispered.

The Seeker looked up, his face half hidden on the dark; a connection port was however clearly open on his forehead. Megatron stared at him, surprised to see that the Seeker was surrendering that quickly. Finally, azure fingers caught the dark palm, and established the connection the Decepticon Commander hesitated to set.

"Then… See!"

O

"_Starscream… Young air commander… I have the answers you're looking for…"_

The seeker stopped in front of the massive door, looking on his right and his left, in search of the Transformer who had just called his name. Nobody was in sight.

"_Come, Starscream… You want to know more about Megatron, and I have exactly the information you need!" _

A sudden shiver ran through his back: the voice was strangely muffled, as if it wasn't real, and Starscream felt like exiting from this hallway. He finally decided that leaving was the best solution when the door of the corridor closed, while the door he was staring at opened on a dark room. Despite the darkness, he made out the form of a massive Transformer, sat on a huge throne.

"_Come… I will tell you everything about your beloved commander!"_

Starscream hesitated and then stepped in the room.

O

Megatron cut the link and stared at Starscream in disbelief. What he had just seen was hard to believe, and he would have liked to have Soundwave at his side to confirm or not the Seeker was telling the truth. He knew that the former communication officer was not in condition to fulfill such a mission.

_'I have no choice but to believe him… That would mean that Shockwave lied about the stasis of the prisoner!_' he reflected. He clenched his fists in anger at the thought.

"What happened next?" he asked.

The optics of Starscream gleamed wickedly.

"I learned about you… the real you… I would have preferred to never hear what I did!"

* * *

Somewhere in the base

Rumble was walking at a slow pace in the deserted hallway. He didn't really know where he was but that didn't matter at all. He just wanted to walk and forget. He didn't want to see his brothers for the time being, as their downcast expressions would just remind him the situation. Above all he didn't want to hear about Soundwave anymore. Looking through the dark window glasses of what looked like the command room of a hanger, he spotted a black mechanic bird which was flying in round at the border with the ruined city.

'_Lazerbeak? What is he doing outside?'_ he wondered with worry.

He knew that the ruins were dangerous. Megatron had described in few words his misfortune with Starscream, two days before. He tried to radio the bird but Lazerbeak didn't open the COM'link.

"He's crazy or what?" he mumbled, forcing the lock of one of the glass panels to open it. Exasperate, he finally kicked the panel and broke it.

"Lazerbeak! Come here, immediately!" he shouted to the bird.

The metallic hawk didn't care the slightest and even flew in the direction of the city.

"Stupid you! Come back here before a Stalker shot you down!"

It looked like Lazerbeak was not in the mood to obey this morning as he continued to fly into the city. Rumble decided that he had to stop him, and quickly. Looking down, he saw that he was only four or five metres high from the ground and jumped outside. He landed without grace, his balance still not perfect. Spotting the form of the dark bird, he ran to his direction without taking care that he was also going to be a potential target.

**To be continued…**

* * *

(Text edited on 2008/6/23)


	8. Ch 8: A Cassettes' Blues 2 Encounters

**Chapter 8: A cassettes' blues - Encounters**

**Japan, Tokyo, Ginza district, August 2005**

_People were walking without hurry in the main streets of one of the most famous and oldest shopping areas of Tokyo. Everything was fine on that sunny Sunday: it was not too wet and strollers were the kings of the road, as cars had been redirected far away from the heart of Ginza. Cherry on the cake; bargain sales were still on going! Those were many reasons for the Tokyoites to almost forget that a black and gigantic spaceship was hovering in the sky, some hundred metres over their heads. _

_5:00 P.M. The old clock surrounding the Takashimaya Department Store rang in the complete indifference. Not for long... All the strollers looked up on its direction but nobody took care of the building. Behind the white tower, something was coming: several black forms were flying down, heading to the district._

_Murmurs became clear interrogations and then cries of fright when the silhouettes could be identified as dark giant robots. People ran for their lives. Not that far away, unfortunately..._

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza district, August 2025, twenty years later**

Rumble didn't know at all where Lazerbeak had brought him. He was now walking on a large street, bordered with ruined buildings, looking like what the squishes were used to call a shopping area. Well, he guessed it was called like that. Earthling's culture had never been a subject of interest - except for colorful language.

Speaking about the place he was currently wandering, the only thing that attracted his attention was the old-fashioned building with a big clock at the top. Lazerbeak was perched on its roof, looking at him. Rumble couldn't help thinking that the spy looked bigger than usual...

O

Nerte Reignault closed her eye, while gently brushing the silky texture of the skirt. Like so many times before, she had come there and imagined how nice it would have been to wear it, twenty years ago, and walked on the busy streets of this city. Once again, she pondered how much she would have liked living during the "Golden Age", before the massive attack of the Salonian Empire.

"Stop dreaming, Nerte... You have to reach the base 25 before the Sunset," she encouraged herself, dropping the piece of dirty silk.

"Hey! Stop now and come back!"

Nerte started and opened her eyes. The voice looked almost human but not completely, with some metallic inflexions on it. Somebody was outside and was yelling after somebody or something. She carefully made her way to the windows of the second floor, keeping hidden behind the racks and displays. She didn't care so much about the wretch of the place, full of rotten clothes, carpets, accessories, and unfortunately, skeletons. All destroyed by the time, the weather and by the Stalkers. Looking through the empty frame, she made out a humanoid robot - a purple one - which was throwing terrible warnings to a black bird that Nerte had no problem to identify.

"What the hell is this little Transformer doing here, in the middle of the street, yelling at a Salonian spy hawk? He wants to make himself a target for the Stalkers, or what?"

O

"Hey, Lazerbeak! Stupid chicken! Come here immediately, or you'll regret it dearly, I swear it!" Rumble shrieked, looking daggers at the bird. _'Good... He understood who's the new boss here!' _he assumed, since Lazerbeak was flying on his direction.

The metallic hawk swooped down on him, laser gun-like appendices apparent under his wings. It sounded strange to Rumble, who looked closer at the shape. '_Black head, black body, black wings... Oh, crap! Nothing red!'_

"Hey! You aren't Lazerbeak!"

Rumble didn't take the time to congratulate himself for this brilliant deduction. He jumped on the left, avoiding a salvo of laser beams and bullets. He jumped onto his feet and spotted a building, less destroyed than the others, which could be a good hideout. His other option was to face the damned bird and try to bring it down. However, the explanations of Megatron about the star bullets and their virus popped out his mind. His weapons were not responding; trying to put on a fight was suicidal. It was inglorious, but his only chance of survival was to escape.

The Cassetticon didn't lose any more time in extra thoughts and ran as quick as he could. The unknown enemy bird swooped down again and shot a new salvo of laser beams at Rumble. Arrived at the entrance of the building, the small Transformer jumped through the remains of a window and rolled on the ground among the scraps, and ended in a cupboard. He shook his head to chase away the dizziness caused by this landing and finally hid behind a small wall, escaping the light of the bird, which was flying before the entrance.

_'How will I get out of this mess?'_ he cursed inwardly.

He almost jumped out of his shelter when he felt a hand setting on his shoulder and another on his mouth. His logical system almost disrupted, first due to the surprise, secondly on account of the nature of the limbs powerfully squashing his shoulder.

'_Hey! I've never known that squishes have so much strength in their hands!'_

He squirmed, but stopped when a female voice reached his audio receptors.

"Stop moving and follow me if you want to live longer."

* * *

**Base 0025, at the same time **

Starscream's quarters

"What's going on, Megatron? You don't want to see what had happened next?"

The voice of Starscream had recovered his teasing tone, the one he had used so many times to defy his commander. On a way, that was the sign he was feeling better. Megatron knew very well that the challenges of Starscream always came to a dead-end: for Starscream himself but sometimes also for the mechs around him, starting by Megatron. It looked like Starscream liked collateral damages. Anyway, he wanted to know the truth. His hand connected once again to Starscream's forehead port. The Seeker shut off his optics, opening his memory bank to his former leader.

O

_The room was dark, lightened by crystal neon. Starscream adjusted the acuity of his optics until he clearly made out the massive form that was sited on a not less majestic command chair. _

"_Come in, don't be afraid, young Air Commander!" encouraged once again the voice._

_There was something in this vocal that sounded very familiar to Starscream: he had heard it already before but couldn't recollect where. Thinking that he wouldn't find the answer by staying on the threshold, he finally stepped in and walked slowly to the mysterious host. Step by step, he could see more details of his armor: it was purple and silver. The Transformer was strongly built and a massive hooded-cask - like a samurai helmet - was just emphasizing this impression. The gaze of Starscream fell on the left arm, quietly set on the armrest: a gold cannon was attached, even more frightening than Megatron's weapon. The Seeker stopped, drowned by the sight of the cannon; it looked terribly powerful and on the same time, the unique color was fascinating. _

_"Come closer. Then, you're going to understand why you must listen to my story... "_

_The optics of Starscream flashed with surprise. Faltering, he however nodded and walked even closer. He gradually made out two ruby-red and narrow optics, a straight nose, and high cheekbones. He gave out a strangled cry when he stared at the whole faceplate. Primus, this so familiar, harsh but aristocratic faceplate-! _

O

Megatron suppressed a groan of pain as both his logical and emotional systems registered a light overload at the sight of the so familiar but hatred being. He however managed to keep the connection open.

O

"_That's impossible! Who are you?" the astonished Jet barked._

"_Don't get angry, Starscream! This is not a bad joke: I share familial links with your leader. One can say we're a kind of... Brothers," the purple and silver mech replied. "This explains the resemblance."_

"_Brother... Of Megatron? I've never heard about that before! State your name!"_

"_It doesn't matter, young warrior... What really matters is that you know what Megatron is capable of... and protect yourself against him!"_

_There was an underlying threat hanging in this voice, which made Starscream shivering. A voice inside him was repeating that he had to leave the place without delay, but he refused to listen to it. The so-called identity and likeness with his Commander were puzzling him too much. His curious nature, developed at the time he had been a scientist and an explorer, pushed him to sit down and listen to what the warrior had to say._

"_Megatron and I were born from the same creator. Megatron was initially created as a gladiator. Gladiatorial tournaments were the main sports, or should I say, the main attractions settled by the rulers of Cybertron. It kept the inhabitants busy with those futile entertainments while they were deciding of the future of the planets in private. I was created only some hundred years after Megatron, based on his specs and programming, with some substantial improvements. My first assignment was to fight in the arena, against my elder brother. Our battles had been the finest and most merciless duels of the history of the gladiatorial tournaments. Neither Megatron nor me were complaining about our fate at the beginning. We had been built for fighting, we needed fighting, and we had what we wanted. However, after two million years of service, we felt we were just wasting our talents down the arena; fighting for the praise of the crowd was exciting, but we needed more. The praise of an army… We wanted conquest!_

_Megatron and I started to raise an army on the ranks of the gladiators first, and then on the ranks of all the Transformers, bored with the current regime. I guess that I don't need to explain you what had come after... "_

_Starscream nodded affirmatively. He could remember very well the beginning of the troubles; he had just been accepted at the Science Academy. Being a Seeker and the creation of one of the highest ranked officers of the Cybertron army, he had followed with interest the evolution of the situation and knew that a kind of Revolution was on preparation among the corpus of unknown factions. However, he had never heard about the "brother of Megatron" and his ambitions. Maybe he had missed something... He had been so often out of Cybertron during the following years, exploring other planets and systems with Skyfire...Running away from the one he couldn't name as "father" and the other one who he hated to relate as his "brother": the one who had just relegated him as second in his creator's attention._

O

'Of course, idiot... I have never talked about him on purpose! He had already betrayed me and was fighting me, hidden in the shadows of the planet like the insane coward that he had always been. How could you believe him and not me, your savior?'

Starscream moaned in pain and Megatron understood he had to refrain from this kind of mental outburst during the connection. All his thoughts were directly sent to the CPU of Starscream, shaking all the systems.

O

"_I guess that it would have been hard for you to come back to the citadel of your creator and found he and your brother had been killed... By Autobots, right? It was what Megatron told you, wasn't it?" said the purple and silver Transformer._

_Starscream nodded once again, the image of this macabre discover flashing through his memory bank. _

"_Yes, he was with you and comforted you when you started to cry and were almost driven insane by the pain. He showed that you had a future and led you to a path of dedication and obedience. He rewarded you so much for your loyalty, didn't he? He offered you, the heir of Shootingstar, the assassinated Air Commander of the Cybertronian Army, a senior title in the Decepticon army. Try to see behind it all… Don't you believe it was a symbolic action that could drive the hesitating Seekers straight into the same army as you, and push them to punish the Autobots for this crime?"_

_The Seeker jumped on his feet and stared at the mech with flaming optics. "You mean... It was a trick... That Megatron ordered the assassination of my creator and my brother? " Starscream squealed, shaking under the strong emotions coming from deep within him. Was it disbelief, or a forgotten anger? A never expressed rage or an unfulfilled desire for revenge which rose from his processor at the evocation of this unsolved crime?_

"_No, young flyer. He didn't order it; he did it himself. He executed your brother first and then killed Shootingstar. I was here with Shockwave."_

_Starscream's knees buckled and he fell to the ground; drained of his power by the statement. "No, it can't be... You're lying!"_

"_Alas, it's the truth. I have a record of it, here," said the mech, pointing at his chest. "After this terrible act of war, or I'd say, of cowardice, I became revolted by the monster that my brother had become, and I decided to abandon "his cause." I kept the record in the hope of unveiling the truth to the Great Council of Cybertron but Megatron didn't allow me the time to achieve this last mission. He confronted me and locked me here, where I've been prisoner for almost five million years. Fortunately, I haven't waited vainly, you're here, and you'll be soon able to avenge your creator." _

_Starscream looked with a kind of disbelief the purple and silver Transformer pressing a panel on his chest, which slid open on a golden disk embedded in a rectangular electronic device. "This is yours, Starscream, Heir of Shootingstar. This is the evidence that Megatron destroyed both your creator and your brother," he said, holding the disk to Starscream. _

_The Seeker took it and stared at the piece of metal, so small in his trembling palm, but holding such a terrible secret. After long minutes of reflection, he opened a compartment on his chest and slid the disk inside. A scream escaped him as the images began to flash before his optics. He staggered, trying to keep his balance but landed on his knees._

_O_

Megatron felt the overload reaching his logical systems and his memory bank: the scene of the death of Shootingstar was flashing before his optics, together with the feelings of Starscream. He could feel anger, feeling of betrayal, deception and pain... Everything the Seeker had felt at the time he had first seen the scene, and that he still felt.

_'That's a fake, Starscream, it didn't happen like that!'_ mentally pleaded Megatron.

However, Starscream didn't answer: he just opened the next sequence.

_O_

_When the movie stopped playing, energon tears were running down his cheeks. It took all his might to brace himself and stop trembling. _

"_Megatron, I swear that I will make you pay! I swear that I'll make every moment of your existence a true hell on Cybertron! I will do my best to make you fall and take the precious power you've killed my family for!" he yelled, whipping away tears, "Yes, I will take your power and make you grovel at my feet, and then I will destroy you! I will be the new ruler of the Decepticons, make you beg for your life, and then dish out the supreme punishment! You hear me, Tyrant? I WILL KILL YOU, MEGATRON!"_

O

_'I WILL KILL YOU, MEGATRON! '_

This time, Megatron couldn't keep the connection opened and had to cut it before this last scene caused a major overload in his systems and Starscream's. He leaned against the wall, regaining his balance. He then noticed that Starscream was crying Energon tears.

"Starscream, HE lied to you... To make you rebel against me!" Megatron whispered, still under the shock.

"I don't know... I don't know what to believe anymore..."

Starscream once again hid his face between his arms. His frame was shaken by silent sobs.

"You still have the disk hidden in you, don't you, Starscream?"

"Yes."

Megatron sighed. _'I understand far better why he had turned like a neurotic fool... However, the story he'd been told doesn't explain everything... There must be something on the disk,' _he reflected_._

"I would like to ask you to give me the disc, but I know you don't trust me, and you wouldn't give it to me..." He saw the ruby optics, misted over Energon, emerging from the blue arms. "The only thing I can tell you is that what the prisoner told you is a pure lie. The only advice I can give you is to visit Wheeljack, or Hook, and ask them to study the disk and its contents. Once they give you the result, I guess you will be able to decide the right thing to do."

The only thing Starscream heard was the sound of heavy footsteps leaving his quarters and the sliding of the door before it closed.

* * *

**Not far away, on a hallway**

"Rumble! Where are you? Rumble?"

Frenzy had been walking for two hours on the corridors around their quarters, calling his twin. Ravage, Buzzsaw and Lazerbeak were doing the same, covering other sectors around, to no avail. There was no trace of Rumble.

"Rumble! Stupid street punk! Where've you gone?" he grumbled once again.

_Scratch... Scratch..._ That was the only noise that answered him. As far as he could remember, that was not a noise Rumble was used to make. It was rather like some metal fangs biting on metal and chewing it, like...

"Insecticons!" he exclaimed, looking up, "Shrapnel, what are you doing here, hung at the ceiling?"

The so-called Insecticon looked down at the little cassette, chewing up quietly the panel he had just torn out from the gray surface. Wires lamely hung from the large hole that had been open.

"I'm bored... bored... So I eat... eat!"

_'Oh! I didn't know that the darn cockroach needed to be bored to eat everything he could bite around!'_ thought Frenzy, amused. Anyway, he was curious. "Why are you bored?" he asked.

"Bombshell and Kickback will be reactivated tomorrow... Tomorrow... I can't wait that time... time... It makes me bored to wait... wait... So I eat... eat..."

"Uh?" Frenzy couldn't understand very well the link between "being bored" and "eating panels". Insecticons were not like the other Transformers, especially with their need to feed from materials tormenting them endlessly. "Hum, Shrapnel... Have you seen Rumble around recently?"

"No... No. Why... Why?"

"He has disappeared since this morning... It just doesn't look like him!"

"I don't know... Know. Ask Soundwave... Soundwave!"

Frenzy sighed, looking at Shrapnel creeping away, still hung at the ceiling.

"I would like to ask him... But, the big guy doesn't care anymore!"

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza district, underground**

Rumble's cyber gaze fell on the inscription written in two languages. He could decipher only one: "Ginza", half destroyed by carbon and humidity. He then looked at the bones covering the floor and grimaced: he didn't like humans so much but wandering on the wreckage of one of their cities, following an unknown female squishy who had the gut to command him. It was a little too much for his Cybertronian pride, even if she had come to help him.

"Where are we going, Squishy?" he asked.

The Nerte girl jumped on the railways and walked on the direction of a tunnel, as dark as the deeper pit of Cybertron.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!"

The girl turned around and stared at him, her eyes still hidden behind big sunglasses which ate half her face. It gave her a "Soundwave-like-look". That was odd.

"Don't call me like that! I've got a name: Nerte. Moreover, I won't answer any of your questions until you tell me your name."

Rumble crossed his arms on his chest and looked down at the woman. "I don't see why I should follow you or accept any of your orders!" he retorted.

The girl looked up at him and shrugged her shoulders. "I've never asked you to follow my orders; I've just suggested you to follow me if you wanted to escape the spy hawk. And you followed me," she spat back, "But if you prefer the company of the Salonians and you are ready to be executed once caught, it's still time to go back to the place we've met!"

Rumble opened his mouth to express his indignation to be treated like that by a human, but he realized that Nerte had already walked deeper inside the tunnel. Beside, his energon ran cold when a shrill cry reached him; the bird was certainly not far away.

"Hey, wait!" he called. He jumped on the railways and ran after the woman.

O

Nerte heard hasty footsteps coming closer to her.

"So, what's your name?" she asked, when she heard the robot was walking on her heels.

It took few seconds before the answer came.

"Rumble..."

"Nice name!" she answered, considering that it rhymed very well with mumble. "Why were you after this bird?"

"I believed it was one of my brother Cassetticons and I followed him."

"Which base were you coming from?"

"Don't know... The closest, I guess."

_'Hum, not very precise in his statement for a Transformer'_ she thought, a bit surprised by her new companion. "I see… The base 0025... That's fine with me, I'm also going to the base!" she replied. To her surprise, Rumble passed her and blocked her way.

"You're driving me back there? Hey! Wait! I don't want to go back there!"

Nerte peered at the optics of the Cybertronian: the task was easier than usual as he was only some ten centimetres taller than her. _'Curious sentient being... I've never seen a Transformer that small before. Even Bumblebee is taller!' _she reflected. "Why don't you want to go back to base? It's anyway safer than here!" she asked.

"Not your business!"

"Rumble... I can't leave you here. I guess the people at the base won't forgive me if I abandon you here. Either you tell me it immediately, and we quickly go back to the base, either you tell it later, and we come back later. Your call!" she stated.

O

The Cybertronian mouth underlined an annoyed grimace, and he briefly thought to slap her in the face and end the conversation at this point. However, he could make out the head of two riffles emerging from the back of her leather jacket. He then remembered that for a reason or another, all his weaponry was deactivated. Moreover, he was still under the surprise caused by the strength of the girl when she had pulled him out of the trap of the Department store's ruins.

Rumble finally calmed down.

"Because... He doesn't care about us anymore!" he childishly replied.

O

_'Oh! The little Cybertronian has run away from B0025. A fugitive… What a nice way to start my "mission" at this base!'_

Nerte sighed once again, considering that her good action would bring her more problems than reward. She eventually tried to know more about the "concerns" of the metallic creature. "Who doesn't care about you anymore?" she asked.

Rumble looked down and scratched the ground with his foot.

"That's not your business... I don't want to come back to the base, that's all!"

"Yes, I have understood the last point... However, it's my business, because you brought yourself so loudly to the Salonian bird's attention. Besides, it's after us, now! Listen!"

The purple robot didn't move and the expression of his faceplate didn't change, but Nerte knew he was processing what his audios could capture just by looking at his large optics. They were flashing a special way that she had seen so many times before, when she had worked under the command of Astrotrain and then Dirge.

"He's after us... He's creeping on the tunnel!"

Nerte nodded and crossed her arms on her chest.

"Good that you finally realize that! Once again, what do you decide? You stay here and keep lamenting about HIM, waiting that the Salonian chicken catches you? Or you shut up, walk faster and follow me?"

O

"Hey! Don't speak to me like that, squish- I mean, Nerte!" protested Rumble.

The woman didn't care about his complain at all. "State your choice, at once!" she ordered.

Rumble sighed and bowed his head in surrender. "Okay... I'm following you. But I want to know where!" he mumbled.

"To my vehicle... I'm going to contact the base. The reaction of the spy hawk is strange... I would say he's enraged. It looks like the Salonian side suffered a major defeat recently."

"Yeah, two days ago... The Seekers gave them a really rough time."

A new shrill cry came from the darkness of the tunnel.

"Hurry now, Rumble," warned Nerte, "He's coming closer!"

Rumble didn't need to be asked twice: he ran.

O

They raced in the dark tunnel during almost ten minutes until Nerte turned at a corner and climbed the remains of narrow stairs, heading to the surface. They emerged in front of high walls, supporting a typical Japanese roof.

"Kabuki-za or what is left of it... I let Fenril here."

"Fenril? I don't know any 'Con of this name... Another Autoscum, I guess!" said Rumble with disdain.

Nerte almost laughed. "No, it's my bike! I named it from the bike of the hero of video game that I loved to play when I was a child!"

"Oh! So exciting!" mocked Rumble.

The woman didn't care of this last comment and entered the ruins of the building. Almost nothing was left inside; everything up the ground floor had been disintegrated and a big crater had replaced the main hall. Rumble noticed a black vehicle, hidden under the remains of large stairs.

"Is that Fenril?" he asked, scanning the shape that reminded him a Cybertronian vehicle. It was too long and full of curved lines to be an earthling vehicle.

"Yep!" Nerte mounted her bike and pushed a button on the large panel, which opened from the centre, unveiling a complex command board. "I'm going to radio the base and give our position!" she explained. "If I still remember the frequency..."

Rumble nodded silently and leaned against the edge of the stairs, looking at the woman trying to contact their allies.

O

It didn't go easy; radio waves seemed to be blocked by interferences. Nerte tried various wavelengths, but the result was only cracklings on the radio. The tension of the two fugitives equally rose at its stake. Rumble tried to think to something more distracting than the hawk that was after them, when he noticed a buzzing beneath them. He saw also that the tiles of the floor were vibrating and some of them were sliding on the floor. What was this bump that had appeared some metres away?

"Nerte! It's beneath us!" screamed Rumble.

He had hardly finished his warning that the head of the Salonian bird emerged from the ground; the beak opened and sent them a ball of pure fire.

"Jump!" yelled Nerte, pushing Rumble on the crater.

In few seconds, the purple Cybertronian found himself landing on his bottom with shards of metal and stones raining around him. He saw another fireball coming as the bird launched a new attack. The atmosphere became quickly saturated with a thick black smoke.

Everything went black and confused for Rumble until he heard the noise of an engine and the "clang" of a vehicle, heavily landing beside him.

**To be continued…**

* * *

(Text edited on 2008/6/23)


	9. Ch 9: A Cassettes' Blues 3 Dark Paths

**Chapter 9: A cassettes' blues – Dark paths (3)**

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza district**

The optics of Rumble flickered as he slowly came back on line. He assumed that his visual system was damaged because the first thing he saw was a gray curtain. After few seconds, the gray smoke turned to purple, and he understood that a thick fog was enveloping the surroundings. He blinked a few times and then deduced that the strange cloud was coming from the big and black metallic body, sprawled on the ground a few metres from him. Shaking his own frame, Rumble came back to a sitting position and quickly ran an internal scan. Damages were minimal, caused by the blast of the explosion of the Salonian bird that had knocked him down. The question was to know what or who had brought down the predator.

He was to get on his feet when he heard a growl, followed by the familiar noise of a gun reloading.

"Duck down!" a voice ordered.

As strange as it seemed to him, he ducked down. From his humiliating position, he grasped that somebody was using a weapon very similar to the Salonian's cannon, equipped with laser and bullets. Detonations half blew-up one of his audios before silence settled at the time the last growl died. Rumble slowly dared to look up and found himself staring at the barrel of a cannon, which remembered the alt form of Megatron. He felt really uneasy as he had an exclusive view on the receiving end of the black barrel and wondered how Starscream had put up with that kind of threat during so many years.

"Hey! Don't shoot!" he whined, holding up his hands in sign of surrender. Looking aside, he made out the burnt body of a black and disgusting flesh creature, which was spilling its greenish blood on the rutted pavement. There was no need to be a scientist to understand that this head-less thing was not human.

"Oh! By Primus and all the pits of Cybertron! What's that?"

"You're okay?"

"What?"

Rumble looked in shock at the person holding the weapon. _'This voice… It's her?'_ he wondered and then blinked as the deadly weapon turned away from his faceplate. Once his stupor faded away, he could make the face of Nerte. She was rather calm for a human who had just been attacked by a giant hawk robot. Examining her a little closer, he realized that her black stained glasses were gone, and that two green eyes were coldly staring at him. His gaze traveled down, and he realized with shock that the hand holding the gun was as metallic as the weapon. The right sleeve of her jacket and the flesh beneath had been totally burnt, leaving the metallic bones exposed. Only some reddish fleshy muscles were still tarnishing the perfect silver of the alloyed frame.

"You're a drone?" he exclaimed in utter surprise.

A laugh escaped the lips of the woman.

"If I was a robot, I would feel insulted being called a drone! No, I'm not a drone or any other robotic creature," she replied, "I'm just a human who had lost her right arm in battle and got another one in exchange."

Rumble's optics blinked one more time, showing his growing astonishment.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I was a pilot of the base 0025… I-"

Strong buzzing covered her voice. Both Nerte and Rumble raised their heads up as they heard a metallic noise remembering clearly the heavy footsteps of a giant robot walking towards their current position. Nerte looked at the spot where the ceiling should have been and then stared at Rumble in alarm. She finally clamped her hands on the handlebars of her bike and tried to push the vehicle back. Unfortunately, the rear wheel was completely stuck in an amalgam of wood, metal scraps and rocks.

A new commotion preceded the familiar noise of buildings collapsing under the pressure of titanic hands. Both Nerte and Rumble looked up and made out the back of a black and tall robot. A Stalker.

"Oh Crap!" cursed the little Cybertronian. An indescribable fear seized him as the silhouette remembered him the killers who had broken into the Nemesis II and sent the Decepticons to Oblivion.

"Help me… quickly!" called Nerte, pulling on the guide of her bike, "Let's hide over there!"

Rumble didn't give any word or gesture of protest and clamped his hands at the guide, pulling also to have the bike heading to the dark hole that looked like an old loggia. The vehicle moved away just before the Stalker's hand smashed the ground where they were just second before.

"Keep pulling! Keep pulling!" the human screamed.

They managed to retreat back to the next hallway. The roof of the loggia exploded some metres away, shattered by the same fist.

"Why do you need this bike? We should leave it and run' away!" mumbled the small robot, reestablishing his balance while one of his feet slipped on a rock.

"Keep going! I need to retrieve the radio, and then we can go!"

"What?"

Looking at the woman, Rumble saw that she was pulling the bike backward with her right hand while working on the radio component with her left hand.

They finally found their back to a wall with no other retreat left than a stair, inaccessible for the bike.

"We're trapped!" whined Rumble, looking desperately at Nerte, in search of a solution.

"Not yet!" she retorted, pulling out the radio out of Fenril's control panel. "Take it!"

Rumbles caught the device and watched with disbelief the woman opening the back trunk and pulling away two extra riffles.

"Now, we can go!" she shouted, her voice almost covered by the noise of the last portion of the roof collapsing on the ground. "Move!"

Rumble didn't need to be said that twice. He almost flew down the stairs and stumbled on the last steps. He could hear very clearly the noises of air-intakes and heavy machinery still not far away from him. He shot a look around him and saw that Nerte was already running on the street.

'_Bitch! You could wait for me!'_ he cursed. He revised his judgment very soon: the girl stopped some metres away and holding up a riffle, she fired, aiming at the head of the Stalkers.

"What are you waiting for, idiot? Move! I'm not going to stop him forever!"

Looking up, Rumble realized that the Stalker was really, really close, ready to catch him, or maybe, crush him. The radio fell at his feet while his arms changed to their pile drivers form. Almost despite his own will, he aimed at the open palm ready to squash him. The shock had the sound of a bell hit by a hammer and sent Rumble flying backward. He crashed on the remains of the asphalt few metres away and lay there, waiting that his systems override the shock.

"Get up!"

The voice of Nerte reached his audios, awaking him from his lethargy. Strong metallic fingers caught his left wrist and pulled him off the ground. Then, they hit his right cheek with a sharp clang when Nerte slapped him in the face.

"Wake up or die!"

Rumble woke up, his optics staring straight at the almost not damaged big palm coming to claim him again. Once again, he ran away.

* * *

**Base 0025, at the same time**

Medical Repair Bay # 32

"They really aren't like us!" nodded Ratchet to himself, looking at the circuit panels in Bombshells' abdomen.

"No, they aren't. They have totally muted to survive on Earth, eating whatever elements of this world," agreed Hook, "Even for me that was a pain in the exhaust pipe to repair them."

"And if we hadn't had a look to Shrapnel's system, Kickback and Bombshell wouldn't be on the way back to life," concluded Wheeljack.

The three mechs looked at each other, suddenly worried.

"You believe that Prime will ask them to create an Insecticons' army?"

Hook nodded at the question of the masked Transformer. "There's a big chance that one of our leaders is planning so."

"I just hope that they won't eat the whole base! Shrapnel can make big holes on the walls sometimes. You remember when we believed the little monster had passed out and left him in "stasis"? You remember the mess we found the following day? Imagine what several Shrapnel can do!"

The three Transformers gave out a "yuck!" of disgust at the idea of an invasion by metallic insects, creeping all around and eating everything in the most total chaos. They were to make further complaints when the door of the laboratory slid open, disturbing their conversation.

"I'm sorry, but we have closed the medical laboratory for the day. Come back later if you need a check-up," warned Ratchet. He bent over the body of Kickback to look at the mech who had ignored the inscription on the door. "Primus, Starscream! What's going on? Are you okay?" he cried when he saw the dazed expression of the Seeker.

Ratchet beckoned to his co-workers to carry on with their current tasks and quickly walked to the red and silver jet, in the fear that he collapses on the floor. He grabbed the hands of Starscream and guided him to the closest berth.

"Help!" weakly whispered the Seeker.

"What's going on, Starscream? Repairs went wrong?" he asked, already inspecting the wrist of his patient, checking that the flasks of antidote were still in place.

He then realized that the Seeker was squeezing in his palm a flat object, looking like a disk.

"I need you to have a look to what's inside," begged Starscream, forcing the hand of Ratchet to open and receive the disc. "Please, help!"

"What is that?" Ratchet asked, troubled by the distress of the Decepticon.

The red optics flickered, full of emotions. "That's my past," Starscream replied with a sob.

* * *

Close to Megatron's quarters

Megatron was seething with anger. He would have liked to kick everything on his way, especially a mech called Shockwave. He also longed to have at his feet his brother, ready to be torn apart pieces after pieces. Then Megatron would leave this place with Starscream and his fellow Decepticons, ignoring the base burning to ashes!

Scratch… Scratch… An irritating noise coming from the ceiling disturbed his dreams of destruction and revenge. He looked up and recognized the very familiar face.

"Shrapnel! What are you doing, hung at the ceiling in front of my quarters?" he yelled, catching the insect like robot by the neck, pulling him down.

Unfortunately, Shrapnel's fangs were deeply dug in the metallic structure, and the grip of Megatron too strong. The Insecticon came all together with the panel he was biting and greeted the former Decepticon supreme commander with a twitch of his antennas.

"I guess you have a very good explanation for that!" snapped Megatron, not releasing his deadly grip.

Rolling panicked optics, Shrapnel gave out a strangled "squeak!" followed by a desperate "Squeee-?"

"Go and eat the ceiling around Optimus Prime's quarters, moron!" yelled the silver terror, sending Shrapnel fly metres away from him.

The Insecticon, still holding the panel in his mouth, rolled on the ground and finally landed on his knees. He briefly looked back at Megatron, who didn't mind him anymore, too busy opening his door – or breaking the latch if it continued to resist. The antennas of Shrapnel twitched in anger, and then he promptly left, discarding the idea of showing his ass while throwing an insult. Megatron was not in a good mood. Finding a shelter and hide from the Tyrant's outbursts was the only alternative to avoid the smelting pit.

O

The door slid open, together with a deadly curse from the occupier of the wide room. Megatron stepped in, optics focused on his two fusion cannons, abandoned on his recharge berth. He had left them here, knowing that Starscream was already in great shock and would refuse to tell him the truth if he felt in danger. Now, he had no reason to deprive himself of his weapons, his attributes of power and dominance. Quite the opposite, somebody needed to be reminded that treachery leads to punishment. He suppressed a new shiver of pure hatred and clamped his fingers around the fusion cannons.

There were few doubts left about Shockwave's guilt. Megatron shut down his optics and audios, focusing on only one thing: the way Starscream had been trapped by his "brother". The fact that HE had tried to sabotage the Decepticon's hierarchy was not intriguing. However, the way HE had tried was surprising; it was more Machiavellian than the insane plots he usually came up with. Not that HE was too stupid to imagine such a ruse. HE had been programmed on the model of Megatron and shared the same intelligence. HE used to share the same genius, until glitches appeared, and that he sank into the depths of madness. Megatron could almost remember the time the first problems came up. HE had started to speak to HIMSELF, getting angry without a reason, even firing at his elder brother during training, proffering death warnings. HE had become the perfect representation of brute force, the one unleashed without any further planning else than destroying what was in front of HIM, even if it was Megatron standing there.

However, by reason of to those mental disorders, Megatron doubted that HE had been able to imagine the scenario of Starscream's enrolment. It was far too clever and organized to come from HIS overexcited CPU. Somebody else had imagined it, reactivated HIM and controlled HIM. This manipulator must have been aware of Megatron's visit to Shootingstar and had to be there at the fatal moment, recording the death of Starscream's father and brother. This plotter was also aware that Megatron had rescued the youngest son of Cybertron's Air Commander. Had the Seeker been brought there purposely? The optics of the silver warrior glittered with anger at the thought.

'_Yes, Starscream had felt into my grasp a little too easily, the day following the slaughter of his family. Was it a coincidence? Or had he been trapped and sent to crash at my feet? If it's the case, the traitor must have known that I would recognize the lineage of Shootingstar in Starscream and grant my assistance to him. He must have been one of my closest fellow Decepticons. He had to know me well...'_ he reflected.

In the mind of Megatron, there was only one suspect who had been around him since almost the time of his birth, even before his brother was on-line: Shockwave.

'_Traitor!'_

The silver mech quickly attached his weapons to his wrists and hastily left his quarters, focused on only one purpose: the punishment he was to inflict to Shockwave.

* * *

In another part of the Private Quarters' area

Soundwave didn't have any problem to find the quarters of Blaster: he just followed the noises. He first caught imperceptible disturbances of radio lengths and then audio cracklings. Now, it was a clear racket, which made the panels of the wall tremble. That was not that disturbing for Soundwave, as some of his abilities to undertake heavy sounds still remained in his core programming. He just clearly understood why Blaster's quarters were not in the immediate neighborhood of the others.

Behind the door, the music had changed, its heavy drums hitting the metal with a robotic repetition.

_Push me  
And then just touch me  
Till I can get my satisfaction  
Satisfaction, satisfaction, satisfaction, satisfaction (1)_

Soundwave had always thought that Blaster was a cassette deck without musical taste. Now, he had the confirmation. Anyway, that kind of music might be the taste of Rumble and Frenzy: they liked percussions. Resigned, the former cassette deck finally knocked at the door.

O

Five minutes later, he was standing in the room of his former Nemesis, looking absent-mindedly to the messy display around. The quarters of Blaster were filled with old DVDs and cassettes from Earth, messily stored on massive cupboards or piled-up on the floor. Not that he was very interested in what he saw, but that was better than staring at a very contemplative Blaster, who was examining him from head to toes.

"So that's true… You've become a flyer!" eventually said Blaster. "A Cybertronian jet!"

The red optics of Soundwave flashed in annoyance, certainly for the very pleasure of the red cassette deck. "Comments useless. Reality obvious enough," he replied.

The mouth of Blaster underlined a mocking smile. "Still the same, you and your "full-of logic" answers, but said with few more words and a less metallic voice. There are some improvements…" he sniggered

"Such comments, unwanted as well," angrily retorted Soundwave.

Blaster smirked and leaned against one of his cupboards, obviously satisfied by the turn of the conversation. That was not surprising at all: the two had developed a particular hatred for each other, fed by the antagonism between their respective factions, but also by the personal rivalry between them. They had always fought to show to one another who was the dominant Cassettes' deck on Cybertron or on Earth.

'_Past situation. I'm a flyer and he's the only cassette deck "here". I need his help,'_ reflected Soundwave. Gathering his courage, he decided to speak.

"I came here because I need to ask you a favor."

O

The optics of Blaster shone with interest. _'Him? Asking me something?'_ he mused, carefully listening to the blue flyer.

"I would like you to take care of my cassettes."

Fortunately for Blaster, he was leaning against a solid cupboard, which prevented him to drop on the floor in surprise. He had never expected that Soundwave would ask him such a so personal thing.

'_I'm dreaming and this is a nightmare… Soundwave is asking me to adopt his little monsters!'_

He eventually ran an internal scan to check if there were some malfunctions on his logical system. Everything was functioning; the problem was not coming from him.

"Have you scrambled your CPU or fried your logical chip, Soundwave? You realize what you've said?" he screamed.

To his dismay, the blue flyer didn't display any kind of emotions, answering by a monotone "affirmative". That was too much for the red deck, who shook his head in his hands and started to pace up and down, his gaze coming back and forth to the one who had been his greatest foe.

"I don't believe it! That's crazy! Where have you found such an idea?" he whined.

The blue robot was still unmoving, his gaze focused on the now overstressed Blaster.

"I'm not a cassette deck anymore. There's no coming back to expect. Life will be different. I can't protect the cassettes anymore."

Blaster stopped his frenetic walk to glare at Soundwave.

"What? Why can't you protect them?" he asked, not whiling to understand the truth until it was said. In a slow motion, he saw the right hand of Soundwave reaching his chest.

"It's plain now. They will never be able to recharge in it… No chance for them, never again."

The gesture was almost too theatrical to the taste of Blaster. He could almost hear what Soundwave was thinking at this moment, although the former Decepticon was not trying telepathy on him.

'No way! It's out of question that I accept that those little monsters recharge on my chest compartment!'

* * *

Somewhere in the dark corridors of the base

Frenzy was tired of everything. Tired of yelling the name of his twin, now persuaded that Rumble was not in this part of the base and maybe not in the base anymore. Tired of this base itself, so vast, larger than the Decepticon base.

Above all, his despair was far too great. It was just like everything that had been his world was just gone in few hours. One day, the last sight he had was a creepy black robot almost slicing him in half, following by the darkness of a deep stasis. The next scene his memory bank could play was the Autobot medic, surrounded by Optimus Prime and a strange-looking Megatron, all saying that he was back online.

But back for what? Listening to explanations about the destruction of Cybertron? Being abandoned by his creator and seeing his brothers careworn? _What a hell!_ Frenzy was small, but despite this physical disadvantage, he had always been a tough Decepticon, able to keep up with months and months of action on the field, charging against Bots ten times his size. Now, that was completely different: the battlefield had become his own life, and he felt alone.

He had never been prepared for that.

'_Slag this world!'_ he complained, ready to let energon tears have their ways down his cheeks. Then he heard a laughter which seemed very familiar to him.

'_Could it be? Them?'_

He ran on the direction of the voices, although he didn't like that many their owners. However, they were the only link left with this past he regretted so much. Arrived at the corner of the hallway, he stopped and kept hidden, closely staring at the three flyers that were casually discussing there, leaning against the walls. According to the big grin of the black and purple Seeker, the annoyed expression of the blue one, and the excited manners of the unknown bot, Frenzy deduced that Skywarp was on a "prank game".

O

The more Blurr got excited, the more Skywarp was irritating. That was already the fourth time that the blue triple changer had to repeat his explanations.

'_True, Blurr is a really fast-speaker, but understanding him is not impossible,' _considered Thundercracker, annoyed. He sighed once again, looking at the mischievous expression of Skywarp.

"No sorry… Really, really... I understand nothing… Could you repeat?" The devilish prankster chuckled when he saw the expression of Blurr darkening a little more.

"I.don't.understand.why.you.can't.get.what.is.say! That's.true.that.everybody.thinks.I.speak.too.fast, but.most.of.them.get.what.I.say. I.think.that.you're.making.fun.of.me. That's.not.fair.!"

Thundercracker could hear the echoes of exasperation in the voice of Blurr and was to tell Skywarp to stop taunting him, when he made out a mini pair of optics watching them from the corner of the corridor. He ignored the now high pitch of Blurr, competing with Starscream's standards, and beckoned to the small Transformer to approach.

"Frenzy… Why are you hiding over there? Come!"

O

The black and red robot looked with mistrust at the blue jet but finally walked to him, dragging his feet. Thundercracker was not a bad guy after all, but Skywarp was a jerk, especially with smaller Transformers.

"Hey… Hey! Look who's here! Isn't it that geeky Frenzy?" Skywarp exclaimed, cutting the light blue flyer in his admonitions. The unknown bot looked at him with a questioning glance as Frenzy stepped between the three.

"Yeah! Nice to see you too, Warp!" he said without conviction.

The black and purple Seeker grinned maliciously and Frenzy felt like he was to become the next victim of the professional prank player.

"And where is the rest of your family? Your equally geeky twin, the two chickens and the little kitty?" asked Skywarp.

'_Moron! Can't you call them by their names?'_ Frenzy thought with anger, suppressing the need to flatten the foot of the jet with his pile drivers. Looking up, he reminded that he was between three tall flyers, including an unknown one. _Bad calculation._

"Rumble has disappeared since this morning, and we've been seeking him for hours in this base," he whispered in reply.

New grin from Skywarp; Frenzy cursed him once again.

"And where is your geeky creator? Playing again with computers instead of being behind you?"

That was a bit too much this time! Frenzy felt anger scrambling his circuits and couldn't stop the transformation of his arms. The two pile drivers aimed at Skywarp's left foot and collided with it with a loud "clang", soon followed by the scream of the wounded Seeker.

* * *

Office of Shockwave

"We have to tell him now, Optimus! You know how Megatron will react when he discovers we have hidden the truth from him," stated Shockwave, his unique optic staring at the screen of his computer.

Optimus Prime was not surprised by the alarming tone of Shockwave. The single-optic Transformer was emotionless as long as the situation was under his control, but could show his uncertainty when he was unable to find a solution. When it happened, he used to shift responsibilities onto Optimus Prime. He could never look at him in the optics and admit this failure, a feeling that was not coming from his logic system, but from his emotional system, which was supposed to be inexistent.

"I know that, Shockwave. Remember that I have been his nemesis during million years... I know him too well!"

The golden optic of Shockwave kept focused on his only silent target: his computer screen.

"I ignore none of those facts, Optimus, but the problem is that HE will be back at this base in a few hours now. I'm sure the first thing HE's going to think about will be to look after his elder brother. We should have never put HIM in the secret!"

The logical monologue of Shockwave stopped, and Optimus Prime smiled behind his mask. Shockwave was once again dealing with doubts and illogic thoughts, incompatible with the usual process of his ideas.

"I know! We cannot avoid them to bump into each other. Sooner or later, they will find them staring at each other optics, at the corner of a corridor," calmly stated Optimus Prime.

The two mechs kept silent few minutes, drowned into their thoughts, in search of a solution. A beeping at the control command of Shockwave signaled that the Tactic Commander had a visitor.

"Shockwave in!"

A maniacal laugh answered him. "I want two or three words with you… Let me in!"

Both Shockwave and Optimus Prime's body tensed up at the sound of the voice; never the vocal frequency of Megatron had been that raspy and unpleasant to hear. This wasn't good at all.

"Let him in!"

"But Optimus!" Shockwave objected.

"He already knows something… We have to deal with it."

The cyclopean mech pushed reluctantly the button to unlock the door. The two dark panels opened silently on the silver flyer.

* * *

Back to the dark corridors

"You freak! Look what you've done!" yelled Skywarp, nursing his flattened foot. He glared at Frenzy, who was struggling on the hands of Thundercracker and Blurr.

"You deserved nothing else, you moronic prankster!" Frenzy replied, before biting the hand of Thundercracker, who had inopportunely let it too close to the angry mouth.

The blue Seeker gave out a scream, but didn't loosen his grip on Frenzy. After a good minute of biting and kicking, Frenzy gave up and went limp on the grasp of the two robots. Blurr and Thundercracker let go and the little body collapsed on the floor, as drained of energy. The two flyers joined him soon, Thundercracker holding his bitten hand with a blank expression. All were silent, except Skywarp, who continued to moan in pain about his foot.

"Why the hell in a pit are you reacting like that?" eventually yelled Thundercracker.

It took some time to Frenzy to lift up his head and reply.

"Soundwave abandoned us! Then Rumble disappeared… Ravage, Buzzsaw, Lazerbeak and me, we've been searching the base the whole day. He's nowhere. I think he's left the base… He's outside!"

The three flyers tensed up at the words. Even Skywarp was not complaining anymore; it had been just a question of one rescue mission to understand the underlying horror beneath the word "Outside".

"The.base.is.vast:he.might.be.somewhere.else!"

The little robot threw a surprised glance to Skywarp and Thundercracker.

"Blurr said that the base is vast, and that they could be somewhere else," corrected Skywarp.

The blue Triple Changer glared at the purple Seeker.

"You.understand.me.perfectly,don't.you? It's.a.chance.we.have.an.emergency. here

,otherwise.I.would.flatten.your second.foot,jerk!"

Skywarp looked down at his injured limb and gave out a gulp.

"Guys, please come back to the problem here!" called Thundercracker and then turned to Frenzy. "How can you be so sure that Rumble is out of the base?" he asked.

The little Transformer managed to sit up. "He's my twin… I just feel it!" he sternly replied.

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza district**

"Rumble… On your right!"

The cassette didn't have the time to remember where his left side or right side was, that he was caught by a wrist and pulled on an unknown direction. The heat of the last explosion was clearly palpable, sucking his external circuitry and causing disruptions.

'_How can she stand this temperature? She's a squishy, she should roast!'_

He stopped thinking as he went down new stairs in an improper fashion: head first. The jolts stopped when he finally met the ground in an unceremonious clang.

"Get on your feet! Quickly," ordered Nerte, jumping at his side.

Rumble was to point that he had dented several plates in his armor and that his right arm was almost out of usage, when he made out the terrible noise of pomp and machinery that was coming from outside. The Stalker was certainly ready to fire again or to flatten the place. Rumble rose to his feet like a spring and ran on the direction showed by Nerte.

He suddenly felt that the ground had disappeared under his feet and fell face first against what he could identify as a rail. He heard the light frame of the human landing at his side.

"Don't move! Stay face down!" she warned, setting a hand on his shoulder to force him to bend down.

This time, Rumble didn't try to protest and lay down, unmoving despite the roar that soon filled the place. Temperature rose dramatically as a torrent of flame passed above their heads. Once again, Rumble felt some of his external circuits fry under the heat.

Then, everything fell into silence. Even the engine's whizzing, so omnipresent before the fire, had gone.

"I think it's okay. They certainly consider us as dead," whispered Nerte after some minutes. "At least, for now."

Rumble heard she was getting up and started to lift himself up from the ground. He then remarked that he could see nothing.

"Hey, is it me or this place is as dark as a smelting pit?"

"Use your infrareds!"

Rumble growled in agreement and tried to switch on the infrared mode of his optics.

"It doesn't work!" he squawked, understanding that this function was also locked.

"Let me see!"

Rumble couldn't help thinking that was a strange answer: it was too dark to see anything. He shivered when he felt metallic fingers set on his torso and fleshy ones trying to remove the main panel of his chest.

"Hey, don't touch me!" he shrieked, indignant at her action.

"Don't move!" Nerte replied.

Her voice was as cold as before and Rumble didn't feel like trying her patience. He let her remove the panel, but shivered again when her hand started to inspect the internal wires.

"Interesting… It looks like Ratchet locked all your defense systems and weaponry, including infrareds and spying abilities. I will try to unlock the infrareds, but only Ratchet can shut the device down and remove it," said Nerte.

The little robot understood she was equipped with infrared captors, but didn't say anything, praying Primus that this uncomfortable situation took quickly an end. That was too awkward and intimate to have a squishy digging her fingers in his chest cavity.

"That should be okay… Try to switch on, now."

Rumble forgot his grievance when the images of the surroundings flashed in front of his optics in shades of black and red.

"It's working!" he breathed. He then realized that his "partner" was wearing a kind of mask, with red gleaming… damned frightening optics.

"What's the-?"

"-Pit on Cybertron?" cut Nerte "The atmosphere is saturated with carbon. I need to wear this if I want to survive."

"Your mask is ugly!" retorted Rumble. "Strange… Do you need to have fangs on it?"

"Thank you for disliking the design!" Nerte smirked, holding him one of the riffles, "And my turn for not caring about what you believe! Just take this and be ready for action. We'll need all our attention to escape from this underground."

Rumble was to ask what she meant by this enigmatic comment, when he heard a scratch, like if somebody or something was creeping on their direction.

"Nerte! What's that creepy noise?" he whined.

The human looked at him with her terrifying gleaming optics.

"This? Oh…The enemy's infantry!"

**To be continued...**

* * *

Note: (1) Satisfaction is a Lyric by Benny Benassi.

(Text edited on 2008/6/23)


	10. Ch 10: A Cassettes' Blues 4 Q&A

**Chapter 10: A cassettes' blues – Questions and Answers (4)**

**Base 0025**

Shockwave's office

Megatron stepped without haste at the entrance of Shockwave's office. His fiery gaze fell first on the Cyclopean Transformer and then on the former leader of the Autobots.

"I have some questions to ask to Shockwave, Prime. If you allowed us to discuss in private, it would make things easier!" the silver android sternly declared.

"I'm staying!"

"As you wish Prime…"

Megatron shrugged his shoulders and tranquilly walked in the office to finally stand in front of Shockwave's desk. He smirked when he saw that Optimus Prime stepped in his way and pointed a black finger at the red truck.

"If I was you, I would care of MY business, and nothing else!" he warned.

"That's my business to refrain you from harming Shockwave for whatever reason! That's so obvious in your behavior that you are on the edge of blowing your circuits."

The optics of Megatron flashed dangerously and his hand came back to rest along his hips. Optimus Prime and Shockwave could detect his anger in the roar of his engines and fuel pomp: his Energon was running twice quicker than usual in his pipes, seethed with a dark furor.

"Very well. Then stay and listen to the pathetic explanations this traitor will give me!" Megatron hissed. The dark glare of the silver robot left Optimus Prime to focus on the golden single optic. "And now, traitor, tell me how you managed to fool me and pretend HE was deactivated!" he shouted.

The aggressive inflexions of his voice seemed to shake the walls. However, the two Transformers facing him managed to hide their growing worries and even fear, and didn't lose their composure.

"You're talking about your brother, aren't you? You don't need to act like him, Megatron!" finally spat back Shockwave.

The face of Megatron changed from relatively contained anger to evident rage. His left arm rose and the fusion cannon sent away a table with all its data pads.

"NEVER COMPARE ME TO THIS… BLUNT… INSANE… IDIOT!!" he screamed, his engines roaring even more furiously. He was the perfect allegory of a starving bear or an injured dragoon wanting to put a fight as to soothe his pain.

"But you are acting just like him!" shouted back Optimus Prime, his hands groping for his own weapon.

"Don't speak about something you ignore!" retorted the silver android, throwing a warning glance to the truck. "You don't understand the level of treachery I had to face in my past because of HIM, but anyway," Megatron glared again at Shockwave, "Anyway, I had never thought it would go that far… I would have thought that all the attempts to overthrow me would come from Starscream. I was wrong: you were the real traitor!"

"Your speech is illogic. I don't know what you are referring to," answered Shockwave, not losing his cold blood.

"Stop with your lies, Shockwave. Don't tell me you ignored how Starscream had turned to a power hungry back stabber. Don't tell me that you ignored that HE was still online and trapped my Air Commander, pretending that I was the killer of his creator. Don't tell me that you ignored HE even gave him a false evidence, planting definitely in him the germs of treachery against me!"

Shockwave and Optimus Prime looked at each other, the expression of their optics betraying their surprise.

"I didn't know anything of that!" Shockwave exclaimed, "Those facts seemed illogic. I put HIM under stasis myself. HE was off-line until-" The end of the sentence died with the vocal processor of the Cyclopean sentient as he caught the maddened expression of Megatron.

"HE was off-line until what?" roared the silver flyer.

Optimus Prime turned his gaze to the silver mech, who was already holding up his left arm, aiming at Shockwave. He grabbed his own weapon and set the barrel upon Megatron's faceplate.

"Back off, Megatron! Calm down! We'll tell you everything but it has nothing to do with what you are speaking about."

The expression of the flier didn't soften even a bit. He kept unmoving, his body only shaken by a shiver of anger.

"Everything? What do you mean?" he asked through greeted teeth.

"Megatron, your brother had been reactivated and lives in this base!"

* * *

Same time, Medical Repair Bay # 32

The more he watched the movie, the more Ratchet was stunned. On the screen, the golden form of a Seeker collapsed on the floor, cut in half by the shot of a very familiar fusion cannon, mounted of the right arm of an unmistakable silver android. Another Seeker, red and gold, ran on the direction of the fallen body, screaming a name that had entered the Legend of the latest Civil War of Cybertron as a martyr: "Shootingstar". Then, the screen went black: the recording was over.

The medic switched off the audiovisual equipment, thousands of thoughts striking his processor at the same time. His gaze fell on the repair berth, where a trembling Seeker was wandering between recharge and consciousness.

"I almost forgot that Starscream was the son of Shootingstar."

How was he supposed to react in front of that? He had in hands the evidence that one of the biggest scandals that had shaken the Autobot forces, pushing hundreds of Seekers and even Neutrals in the Decepticon ranks, was a pure lie built by the Decepticons. A secret hidden during million years by the instable offspring of the late Cybertron Space Commander.

"Something's wrong with all of this… That's nonsense," he muttered, pushing a button of his control command. It took some seconds before he finds the frequency of the Transformer he wanted to speak with.

"Mirage, are you in?"

The audio line cracked a little as the spy mech had obviously put his internal communication system on silence mode. The link took some additional seconds to establish.

_(Yeah… Mirage in. May I call you back later?)_

"Negative Mirage. I really need your help immediately."

_(Can't you wait an hour or two? I'm cracking the code of a Salonian transmission… Something is happening on the old city…) _

"That's a kind of emergency. I need your expertise…"

Mirage sighed at the other end of the COM' link.

_(What kind of emergency?)_ the spy replied , obviously irritated by the insistence of the CMO.

"Do you remember the "Shootingstar incident"? I have new elements to grist the mill. It can have big consequences. Or maybe none… The problem is that I don't know if it's reliable."

The silence that followed this assertion made him understand that he had reached a point.

_(From whom do you have that information?)_

"Starscream. He's here, in complete shock. He was barely able to explain me that he wanted an expertise of the recording."

New silence over the COM'link followed.

"Mirage… You remember the family link between Shootingstar and Starscream, don't you?"

_(Of course! However, I would have rather forgotten that the weirdo was the heir of Lord Shootingstar. What does the recording show?)_

"Can't tell you now… Not over the COM'link… I need you here."

_(Okay, I'm coming.)_

The communication line was closed, leaving Ratchet to his thoughts. He minded once again the presence of the Seeker, still between waking and sleeping, and set his hand on his forehead. Overheating processors and frying circuits were making his face burning of a bad electric fever. It has started from the moment he had the disc removed from his chest.

"I don't know what it's hidden beneath all of that, but… Why have you kept this for you so long, Starscream? Do you like suffering so much?"

O

_He was floating in deep space. Or maybe walking? He couldn't say where he was, he knew only that it was dark. But maybe… Not that much. Far away in the horizon, a light was born. In a split second, the divine light brightened the surroundings and dazed him. Once it decreased, Starscream was surrounded by icy mountains. The sky was gray and the wind icy, like in the Northern areas of Earth._

"_Where am I?" he wondered. His voice had his natural high pitch but was filled with fear. He suddenly made out a big white body, lying on the white and icy surface. Starscream ran as soon as he recognized the identity of the fallen Transformer._

"_Skyfire!" he called, knelling on the side of his comrade. "Skyfire! No! Tell me something! Tell me-"_

_A strong white hand snaked around his throat, cutting his words. "You… Let me… Crash…" moaned the shuttle._

"_No! Please, Skyfire!"_

_The blue hands reached the fist that was crushing his throat. Starscream believed that Skyfire would really choke him to death when the ground disappeared beneath him. The pressure on his neck faded away, and he fell in the dark space again. Soon, his body registered the harsh pain caused by the collision with the ground. He remained there during an unknown time, until somebody turned his body over. He turned his optics on and stared at the bright silver armor he was pressed against. _

"_Skyfire, you're alive," he whispered, reaching for the bright face and gently stroking a cheek. "I'm sorry… I tried to find you… I-"_

_Flaming red optics flashed malevolently at the contact. 'No, it's not Skyfire!' he thought, panic sweeping over him as the return gaze hurt him as fiercely as a cannon's shot. He pulled his hand back to his ruined chest, not able to suppress a shiver of fright. He quivered when a strong voice escaped the still and harsh face of the Transformer who was holding him._

"_Fear not, Seeker. You are in good hands. I am Megatron, leader of the Decepticons." _

_Starscream was raised from the ground and strongly held in arms which were certainly more accustomed to slaying that protecting. Strangely, it was not fear that he felt but a reassuring feeling of protection. He closed his optics and rested his head on the strongly built chest, lulled by the roar of the vivid engine pulsing beneath the bright armor._

_He came back to reality when he felt he was placed down on a seat. He switched on his optics and saw the big silver frame of Megatron, bent over him, carefully adjusting on his head a crown._

"_Here you are, my beautiful traitor. Ready for the coronation you have always dreamt of," Megatron chuckled, kindly brushing a dark silver cheek, "...and deserved." _

_He stepped away and walked down the stairs of the canopy. Starscream then realized that he was also wearing a red cape, falling from his shoulders to his waist, spreading around him and the throne like a pull of lava . It was beautiful and on the same time, extremely odd. He tried to move, to no avail. His body sensors sent him painful reports due to the injuries consecutive to his crash._

_Megatron had now reached the bottom of the stairs and joined a tall purple and silver mech that Starscream easily recognized._

"_Brother, please reward my dear Starscream accordingly," Megatron snorted, setting a hand on his twin's shoulder. "Send him join his creator and brother."_

"_My pleasure… Let's end this bad comedy!" snarled the golden cannon's owner. He raised his weapon and aimed at a very terrified Starscream._

_The shot hit him in a fraction of a second: right in the spark casing. The Seeker screamed as he felt his whole body burning from the inside, circuits and chips melting in a hell of pain._

_O_

"AARRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

Starscream arched his back while the animalistic roar escaped his throat: his blue fingers dug in the surface of the repair berth, leaving deep dents. Then his whole body started to tremble, his legs kicking frenetically all around.

"Hook! Wheeljack! HELLP!" shouted Ratchet, catching the wrists of the Seeker. A punch sent him backward, but the CMO was not an easy bot to put down, especially when one of his patients was displaying such sufferings. He climbed on the berth and pinned the Seeker with his own body. He then noticed the unusual heat beneath the faceplate.

"Oh! Crap! His whole circuitry and systems are melting down!"

* * *

Somewhere in the corridors of the base…

The three Transformers were looking with some worries to the little robot fallen at their knees. Even Skywarp had put aside his pain; he was still nursing his flattened foot but his gaze never left Frenzy. The Cassecticon had never been known for showing weakness, except his small size. Seeing him almost crying was in a way creepy; his pain must have been heavy.

"Where's Soundwave, anyway?" asked Thundercracker, trying to be as reassuring as he could.

"Don't know… And don't care at all!" yelled Frenzy, wiping away an energon tear.

The three looked at each other again, interrogating themselves silently. A scratch… Scriiiiitch drew their attentions to the ceiling, to which a very familiar robot was hanged.

"Shrapnel! What are you doing here, eating the ceiling?" shouted Skywarp, jumping on his remaining foot under the surprise.

"Yeah! Stop that, Shrapnel! That's not the moment for your stupid jokes!" added Thundercracker.

"Stop.eating.this.panel! You've.already.received.warnings.about.that! You!Base.saboteur!" Blurr exclaimed with indignation.

O

Shrapnel barely looked down at the three Transformers and kept chewing the piece of metal within his fangs. He did it slowly, methodologically, knowing very well it was frankly unnerving for his audience. He finally swallowed the last pieces with a throated gulp and unhooked his claws from the ceiling's panels, landing in front of his interlocutors.

"You should solve this problem quickly… Quickly… Before Megatron discovers this mess and gets angry… Angry… He's in a bad mood… mood."

"What?" asked Thundercracker.

Shrapnel didn't answer immediately. His gaze was actually attracted by the wounded foot of Skywarp. _'What a beautiful open injury!'_ he thought, looking with delight to the flatten shell and the glittering broken wires. _'Yum!'_

"What!?" Skywarp insisted, carefully hiding his shattered foot behind the valid one.

Shrapnel looked up and grinned at the purple Seeker.

"Megatron is in a bad mood… mood. He almost strangled me, strangled me. You should sort out the problem before he knows… knows."

The three Transformers exchanged anxious glances.

"We should split," suggested Thundercracker, "Blurr and I will continue the search in the base and Skywarp and Shrapnel, you try to find Soundwave."

"Wait! Why should I go with this freak?" growled the purple Seeker, wriggling on his foot.

"Because.he.seems.to.appreciate.you!" Blurr chuckled, following Thundercracker, who had taken Frenzy within his arms and was walking away.

Skywarp grumbled a little more about his wing mate abandoning him and eventually looked down at the Insecticon. Shrapnel had dangerously reduced the distance with the injured foot and was looking at it with a clear fascination, if not awe. Feeling the gaze of the Seeker on him, he looked up and grinned again.

"Don't even think about that!" threatened Skywarp.

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza district, subway tunnels**

Rumble was dragging his injured foot as best as he could, trying to keep up with the quick space of his "partner". He was almost sure that he had lost some parts of his legs on the way but hadn't taken the time to collect them. The creepy footsteps and the guttural cackles he could hear were preventing him to stop.

"You haven't answered me yet! What are those noises?" he whined.

"Wrong, I've already told you. The Salonian's infantry!" Nerte yelled back.

Rumble jumped above a rock that he had miraculously spotted at the last minute and almost stomped against the woman, who had stopped without prior notice.

"What! Why did you stop like that?" he protested.

Nerte charged her weapon and held it right in front of her. Adjusting the acuity of his infrareds, Rumble made out two forms walking in the shadows. He recognized the cackles and the strange scratch of their footsteps. If he had been human, he would certainly have held his breath, as the Salonian's soldiers walked even closer.

"Oh! By Primus and all the pits of Cybertron!" he exclaimed, while the frame of the creatures appeared in shades or red and black in front of his optics.

He had never seen such a "thing": averaging the same size as humans, they were however not comparable to the squishes. The skin was dark and shiny, covering the whole body. The shape reminded him the form of the velocy-things they had once bumped into on Dinobots' Island. The head was unusually long, with a sharp back cranium. The mouth was widely open on strong jaws, and Rumble could see the sharp fangs inside. The eyes were strangely too big in this reptilian face and shone of dark and frightening light.

"Back off!" Nerte screeched, firing at one of the creatures. The shot caught the alien it in the throat, sending backward the decapitated body.

"Bend down!" ordered Nerte, kneeling to the ground.

Rumble, a little slow on the uptake, felt something hurting his chest and then slammed against the next wall. A frightening cry almost blew up his audio, covering the noise of the carnivorous jaws, trying to snap his face. Fortunately for him, he had put his arms in front of him, in a protection reflex. More and more panicked by the ugly mouth, he dug his fingers in the chest and shoulder of his attacker and instantly understood that he had done the wrong thing.

* * *

**Base 0025**

Medical Repair Bay # 32

Mirage had been watching repeatedly the recording for few minutes. Ratchet could already read on the worried faceplate that something was wrong with the crime scene. He only turned his gaze to the door when he heard it sliding.

"Red Alert in. Ratchet, you need me?"

"Sorry to disturb you on your day-off, Red, but I need you to replace me on Kickback and Bombshell repairs." the CMO apologized.

"No, that's okay," the red vehicle casually replied.

Red Alert walked to the repair berth where Starscream was sleeping, curled up and looking miserable. He noticed the flyer's arms had been plugged to the berth's devices; he had certainly not fallen asleep by himself.

"I should be happy to see him in pain after the way he once had tried to use me, when I was mentally injured. However… I've never seen anybody in such a dire strait," he commented, looking closely at the face of the Seeker. "What happened to him?"

"Emotional breakdown leading to a critical overload. We're trying to sort out the reasons with Mirage. We'll need to work on him too: I'm afraid that parts of his circuits have to be changed."

Red Alert nodded silently. "I have to leave you and start the work," he said, walking silently to the neighbor repair bay.

Ratchet looked at him walking out, and then set his gaze back to the spy robot, still drawn by the analysis of the recording.

"A problem?" he asked.

Mirage looked at him with a thoughtful expression. "I think I'm starting to understand something… Nevertheless, I need another expertise," he replied.

"Expertise of whom?"

"Perceptor."

* * *

**In Blaster's quarters**

"That's insane, deeply insane!" mumbled Blaster, once again.

It was the 43rd time that he was swearing the same thing. Soundwave had carefully counted the number and took note of some other comments. They made sense, and Soundwave was starting to thing that he had made a major mistake by coming here, without an explanation to his cassettes.

"That's insane, deeply insane!" Forty-fourth time: after all, cassettes decks loved playbacks. "Have you, at least, asked their opinion?" added Blaster, standing in front of Soundwave and staring deep at his visor.

Loyal to his usual behavior, the masked Transformer didn't move or flinch and showed no emotion. However, he was starting to feel doubts challenging his logical chip.

"Have you tried to speak with them?"

"No. Process unneeded. I know what the best is for them."

"Have you tried to think about what they could feel?"

"No. Comment illogic. You-"

"You're really pissing me off with your slagging logic, Soundwave!" yelled Blaster. "Go and find them, and tell them what you're planning to do. Without their agreement and the agreement of my own cassettes, they won't join my little family!"

Blaster pointed the exit of his quarters to a very still blue flier. After some minutes of silence, Soundwave eventually walked to the door. A blast beneath his metallic cranium hit his processor, as he received a distress signal.

From Rumble.

"Haaaaaaaaaaa!" he cried, while collapsing to a heap.

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza district, on the subway tunnels**

His fingers were burning and the thin-alloyed skin was liquefying at the contact of the alien blood, dark and corrosive like acid.

"Help!" screamed Rumble, realizing that he would have done anything to have Soundwave on his side to protect him.

A furious roar echoed to his distress signal and the black butt of a riffle met the alien creature in the lower jaw, shattering the bones and dark flesh around. The body collapsed to a heap, setting Rumble free from his deadly grip.

"My hands! My hands! Look at my hands!" cried the purple Transformer, staring at his injured limbs. Three of his fingers in the left hand and two on his right had been spoiled of their metal protection, showing circuits. Some of them were sparkling, the acid starting to eat the metal.

"Rumble! Rumble! Listen to me!" called Nerte, taking his face between her hands, "You understand now why we must run? You see what they can do!"

Rumble looked at her, temporarily drawn out of his pain by the piercing look. It was neither comforting, nor pleasant: it was speaking of survival.

"It is no time for crying of pain or fright… It is time to do our best to keep us alive!"

Rumble blankly stared at her and nodded although he was not sure to process all what Nerte said. Without protest, he gathered on his injured hand his fallen weapon and ran on the heels of Nerte.

* * *

**Base 0025**

Shockwave's quarters

The last words of Optimus left Megatron dumbstruck, like if a part of the sky had just fallen on him, burying him deep in the ground. It took some minutes to sort out all the ideas – mainly dark – that overloaded his processor.

"How dared you set him free!" he yelled, angrier than ever, one of his arm raising once again, his fusion cannon ready to show the deadly power that lied within.

"I had no choice. The information that the Earth based had been destroyed had just reached us, together with the apparition of the Salonian ships on Cybertron's orbit. You were presumed deactivated and we needed somebody who would be strong enough to lead."

"And you were expecting HIM to be the leader? You're stupid! Now, where is HE, so that I put a end to HIS miserable existence?" yelled back Megatron,

Shockwave hadn't the time to answer that the voice of Rodimus Prime echoed through a COM link.

_(Optimus! Shockwave! The section Alpha is coming back to base… Platform 22… According to the Commander Galvatron, operation had been completed with minimum loss.)_

The optics of Megatron flashed dangerously when he heard the loathed name.

"Commander… Galvatron? You gave HIM the title of commander? You're sick! Even more insane than him!" he roared and then turned around.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Optimus Prime, the sound of his voice unusually threatening.

"Where do you think I'm going? Paying a little visit to this brother of mine!" Megatron spat with a bloody glare.

"Oh no! You're going nowhere!"

Optimus caught Megatron by the waist and torso, trying to tackle him on the floor. A strong punch on his mask rewarded his efforts and sent him slamming against the desk of Shockwave. His optics lost their focus during few seconds, and he heard the weapon of Shockwave firing not far from him. Quickly getting his sight back on line, he saw that the shot had blasted the right frame of the door, missing the retreating back of Megatron.

_(Optimus! Shockwave! What's going on?)_ called Rodimus Prime through the COM link.

The truck Transformer jumped to his feet and without a word, leaped in the corridor, on the heels of his old enemy.

Shockwave reopened the COM link to give the only possible order.

"Clear Galvatron from the platform 22! Megatron incoming! He's totally out of control!"

* * *

Platform 22

"Oh Primus! Okay, I'm going to take him elsewhere. Rodimus out!"

The colorful car Transformer looked up, peering at the purple and silver warrior that was flying ahead ten of other Transformers, twenty meters above the ground. Among the others, he recognized the Dinobots.

'_Crap! That's too late to have them land on another platform. We'll have to run!'_ he considered, watching the gun Transformer land with an arrogant grace on the tarmac. The other robots followed him, standing behind. The two, right behind him, had paint jobs of the same purple.

"Oh… Oh! Look who's here to welcome me! Isn't it the lackey of Optimus Prime?"

The voice was raspy, very similar to Megatron's own voice but with less depth. He had battled against Megatron, and been forced to cooperate with Galvatron, and knew each other behavior. He could say that he preferred the elder to the younger brother. However, he was on an urgent mission and his personal like or dislike was pointless.

"I'm as happy as you to see you again. Now follow me, we have an urgent meeting on platform 15!"

A derisive laugh replied to his statement.

"Tsss…. Are you panicking, Rodimus? You're so tensed that I would almost believe that my dear brother is heading to here, with the intention to slain me," mocked Galvatron, cocking his head on his right side. His face wore a contemptuous expression, which led Rodimus to think he hated this guy.

"How do you know?" he asked, doing his best to keep a neutral voice.

Galvatron reduced the distance between them, setting his faceplate right in front of Rodimus'. A bit to close to the taste of the red car Transformer.

"My creator used his spec to give me birth. We're twin, Megatron and me," he whispered, displaying a devilish smile, "Or, if I might say, we're in a way the very same person."

Rodimus Prime raised quizzical optics and stared at the red orbs of Galvatron. Both turned their gaze to the main gate of the platform, which metallic double door exploded in a swirl of fire and metal scraps.

"Oh, no! It's too late!" gasped Rodimus. He felt a chill as a mad laugh escaped Galvatron's vocals.

"Oh, that's going to be fun!" the silver and purple Transformer giggled, watching the silver flyer emerging from the smoke. His gaze fell on the arms, each of them equipped with a black fusion cannon. "Oh, that gonna be twice as much fun as I thought!" he chocked with laughter.

All the others Transformers shivered with fear. The laughter of Galvatron was too insane and the gaze of Megatron, full of hatred and need for revenge.

**To be continued…**

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/6/23)


	11. Ch 11: Family Squabbles 1

**Chapter ****11: Family Squabbles (1) – Deadly Reunion**

**Base 0025, Platform 22**

Galvatron stopped his insane laugh just to cock his head on his left side and stared at Megatron. "Hey, look who's coming here to pay me a little visit! Isn't it my beloved brother Megatron?" he purred, grinning wickedly.

"Spare your vocal processor for your cries of pain! I'm going to scrap you into spare parts!" spat back the silver warrior.

"Oh, yes, sure. My Energon is running cold with fear. Mwahah!"

O

Grimlock was watching the scene very closely. He carefully minded the position of each belligerent of what could become a bloodbath. The Dinobot leader knew very well that his presence in Galvatron's team was due to his war capacities, and also his strength. He was one of the rare Transformers strong enough to physically restrain the silver and purple warlord. By reflex, the tyrannosaur Transformer quickly sorted out the main protagonists: Megatron, Galvatron, Rodimus Prime, Scourge and Cyclonus.

Scourge wouldn't be a problem: pragmatic and opportunist, the Sweep wasn't so fond of his crazy leader and wouldn't risk his life for him. He wouldn't step on his way and, perhaps, could become an ally. That wouldn't be the case of Cyclonus; the spaceship Transformer had an unexplainable loyalty for Galvatron, even if it led him to be shot down by the golden cannon as unique reward. Grimlock felt almost sorry for Cyclonus of being so brilliant in battle and unchained to a leader who didn't deserve such a loyal second in command. Those considerations apart, Grimlock knew he would have to shoot him before catching up with Galvatron. There, lied a second problem: Megatron. Once Galvatron neutralized, his brother would certainly try to kill him. Hopefully, Rodimus Prime would have enough reflex and strength to restrain him. _Hopefully…_

_(Me, Grimlock, will stop Galvatron. Be ready for support!)_ he informed the other Dinobots through their private COM'link.

* * *

In the corridors of the base

"You're joking, Blitzwing! Everybody knows that I was the most brilliant warrior during the last rescue mission!" stated Astrotrain, contemptuously looking at his teammate.

"And who is everybody? I'm sure the others have another opinion about who was the king of the battle!" spat back the triple changer. The turret at the top of his head twitched in annoyance.

Octane, silent spectator of this verbal fencing match, let out a chuckle, attracting the attention of the two duelists.

"Tell him, Octane! I'm the best!" asked Astrotrain on a tone meaning he would accept only one answer.

"You mean, you want to know who had the bigger gun and was the hero of the day?"

The two triple changers blinked, understanding the double meaning hidden behind the words of the gray Transformer.

"You and your stupid human jokes!" mumbled Blitzwing.

"Oh! You have the CPU processing misplaced things, guys!" Octane retorted with a knowing grin, "No, seriously. I mean… The hero was Megatron. He managed to rescue a wounded Starscream and fight several hours against the Stalkers."

"Pfff! I could have done the same!" ranted Astrotrain.

"What? Fighting Stalkers while carrying Starscream? I didn't know you were dedicated to others," gasped Blitzwing, raising quizzical optics.

"No, I am not. I would have just made the Screamer scream and blow up the Stalkers' audio. A mass destruction weapon, his voice, isn't it? It's just a question of strategy!"

Octane couldn't suppress an amused laugh, watching the bastard expression growing on Astrotrain's face. The train and shuttle triple changer liked that kind of black humor. The effect of the joke ended as soon as their COM'links came back to life all together, relaying the voice of Shockwave.

"Astrotrain! Blitzwing! Octane! Hurry to Platform 22!"

"What's going on?" asked Blitzwing, yawning to show his low interest in receiving orders on his day off.

"Megatron is to fight against Galvatron. I want you to stop them, but don't harm them!"

The three triple changers looked at each other; solemnity had replaced smugness on their faceplates.

"Oh! Slag!"

O

Optimus Prime blasted the remaining of the wall, clearing his way to the platform 22. His internal clock indicated that he was precisely 2 minutes and 36 seconds late on Megatron. In his defense, Megatron had quite damaged the corridor, blowing out both walls on several ten meters. The former Autobot leader cursed his idea to offer to his old enemy two fusion cannons. However, time was not to laments: he had to catch Megatron, before the warlord made a bad move, jeopardizing his life or Galvatron's life.

Optimus Prime didn't even give out a sigh and rushed in the corridor, with an only thought in mind: the two Decepticon brothers were strong. The combined Earth and Cybertronian resistance was going weaker and weaker. The conclusion was very simple to draw: he had to keep them alive.

* * *

Base 0025, Platform 22

"What are you waiting for?"

The last words of Galvatron trailed on his lips, which wore a sardonic grin. Megatron would have done everything on the world to blow away his head, but some questions needed answers.

"Shut up!" His words snapped metallically, but less than his right cannon, which made a rough contact with the side of the purple cask, obliging the face of Galvatron to change from amusement to sharp pain, and turn to the right. "It's me who's asking questions here!" he hissed.

Megatron glared at the dented faceplate, watching with a certain satisfaction a black mark embossing the silver cheek, and a trail of Energon escaping the contracted lips. The equally blazing glare of Galvatron met the optics of Megatron, and the two kept defying each other in a silent and intimidation game, more terrific and meaningful than all their past duels.

Galvatron eventually broke the deadly charm, washing the Energon away with theatrical grace. "I can do better!" he purred.

Megatron instantaneously jerked back, aware of what would follow. He hadn't been quick enough and felt the cannon of his brother raking the lower part of his helmet, his jaw and the top of his neck. His metallic skin deformed and some wires snapped below, dragging a cry of pain out of his throat.

O

Rodimus Prime apprehensively watched the silver flyer falling backward, gold tainting his helmet and part of his face. More worrying was the golden cannon, undeniably oriented on the direction of the former Decepticon leader. The cruel smile engraved on Galvatron's face didn't leave any doubts on the intentions of the cannon bearer.

'_Oh, no! You won't take his life!'_ he swore, raising his gun, aiming at one of the purple and silver shoulders.

"Freeze or I shoot!"

Rodimus Prime winced slightly at the warning: it was the words that he had planned to say, but hadn't uttered yet. Peeping on his right, he made out the tall frame of Optimus Prime, adjusting his shot on Galvatron. In other circumstances, he would have felt reassured to have the elder Transformer intervene: however, he just felt himself caught in potential blood bath.

O

Scourge grabbed Cyclonus by the shoulders, preventing the Transformer to jump into the fight.

"Get your hands off me! I have to help Galvatron!" scoffed Cyclonus, throwing a deadly glare to the Sweep.

Scourge totally ignored his protests, watching carefully Grimlock moving closer to the two brothers. The scene was familiar for him: the Dinobot had already tackled to the ground an uncontrollable Galvatron in the past.

"Believe me; you don't want to be caught in THIS squabble."

O

He was down. Megatron, the mighty one, was down, ready to be slaughtered. Galvatron felt a savage excitement coursing in his circuits, rushing together with his boiling Energon. It was not like the sensation he usually felt before sending to oblivion an enemy. Oh, no! This time, it was a much stronger feeling, so much more ecstatic.

"Freeze or I shoot!"

The voice of Optimus Prime broke the delicious sensation. Galvatron looked up and glared at the new comer, furious to have his pleasure spoiled so quickly. The form of the Autobot leader disappeared, replaced by the oval of a well-known cannon barrel. Galvatron's optics automatically refocused on the face of Megatron. The vision of the gold marks on his brother's face revived his exaltation, washing away the surprise caused by the quick recovery of Megatron. What could be funnier than having some of the finest Cybertronian warriors as onlookers or eventually victims – if the stupid idea of stopping him came to their processors - as audience? It remembered him the good old times when he was a gladiator.

"You're already dead, Galvatron!" Megatron croaked.

The amount of venom in his brother's voice made the crazy mech grin wider. Galvatron raised his cannon-mounted arm, setting the receiving end of the barrel against Megatron's face.

"Wanna bet?"

* * *

Somewhere in the base

"Soundwave! Do me a favor... Turn your afterburners on the opposite direction and go to the medical repair bay!" groaned Blaster, hardly believing that he was giving such advice to his greatest foe.

The dark blue flyer completely ignored him, walking quickly in front of him. Blaster felt like tackling him on the ground and drag him by force to the medical team._ 'He's really getting on my nerves!'_

"Slag it! Soundwave, for this time, use your slagging logic and go to this slagging repair bay. You've passed away right in the middle of my quarters only minutes ago!" he whined.

No answer again_. _Blaster finally walked ahead and stopped in front of Soundwave, blocking his way.

"I don't know if they reduced the speed of your processor when they put you back online, but I repeat: you're not going anywhere before the medics check your system! _Capito?"_

Soundwave cocked his head, looking quizzically at Blaster. _"Capito?"_ he asked.

"Yeah, _capito_? Arggh… 'Understood'? 'Got it?' Anyway, you're not going outside with a glitch causing power failure. It's not an attraction park over there!"

"Rumble is out the base. I must find him, and-"

"You don't know if it's the case!"

"Yes, I know!"

"No you don't!"

"Yes, I do!"

"No!"

"Yes!"

"Soundwave? Blaster? Is it you?"

The two Transformers turned their gaze in the direction were their names had been called and made out the forms of two flyers. A gasp escaped Soundwave's vocal processor as he recognized Thundercraker, carrying in his arms Frenzy. He quickly rectified his behavior and came back to his indifferent look; Frenzy was glaring at him with a not hidden anger in his optics.

Not that far away

"Don't look at my foot or at me, and if possible, don't be there!" mumbled Skywarp towards the smaller Insecticon who was trotting at his side.

The antennas of Shrapnel twitched with annoyance, but he managed his best grin, knowing perfectly the purple and black Seeker hated it to the most. To his satisfaction, he hadn't to wait a nano-click to see the results.

"Oh! And slag! My foot hurts!" whined Skywarp, at the top of irritation. He stopped a moment and then turned his heels on the opposite direction.

"Where are you going? Going? This is not the direction of Soundwave's quarters! Quarters!" warned Shrapnel, drawing aside to avoid the seeker stepping on him.

"I'm going to the repair bay and have Hook or the Autoboop Medic repair my foot! It's where I'm going!"

"But… But… TC said… said-"

"TC said he was to look after Rumble. Fine! Let him search! As for me, I'm going to be repaired, period!" shrieked Skywarp.

Shrapnel was speechless until a chuckle escaped his mouth. Antennas twitching of curiosity, he decided to follow the aggravated Seeker and see how things would turn for him. For sure, the injured foot would lose some parts on the way.

* * *

Same time, Medical Repair Bay # 32

Perceptor was convinced of the gravity of the crisis at the first scan of the repair bay. He had been used to the peace between Autobots and Decepticons, but the scene was like coming straight from another dimension. Ratchet and Mirage were speaking together, gazing in worry at the curled frame of Starscream. What almost shocked him was the feeling of protection toward the Seeker that came from the two bots. He could remember Starscream as a perfect bastard, a coward, an amoral and psychotic upstart, but certainly not as a Transformer eligible to the concerns of such noble sentient beings as Ratchet and Mirage.

Perceptor cursed himself for those thoughts: didn't both Decepticons and Autobots consider him as a hero and a savior?

"Hello. You wanted me to examine somebody?" he asked.

The way Mirage and Ratchet looked at him confirmed that he was to learn something of a prime importance.

"Yeah, I've something to show you-," replied simply Mirage. "I hope you're ready to be surprised."

* * *

Platform 22

A gust of wind brushed up the tarmac of the Platform 22, totally ignored by the androids standing there. Once the wind decreased, each one could listen to the engines of his neighbors, buzzing with nervousness.

'_Something must be done to stop them, but what?'_

The processor of Optimus Prime was running at full speed, but failed to find a solution. It was so obvious that any action from anybody could end by the decapitation of one of the cannon-bearers, if not the two. Negotiating would lead to nowhere: both Megatron and Galvatron had crossed the borderline between reason and madness.

'_What can we do to stop that? Why are we heading to disaster once again?'_ he cursed himself.

His thoughts were cut by screams coming from the control room of the platform, one floor above, together with the noise of broken glasses. He realized what was going on when Astrotrain landed on top of Galvatron and Blitzwing, on Megatron. The four Bots rolled on the floor, while the blasts of the two fusion cannons hit the surrounding walls. Octane took advantage of the general confusion and landed on the side of Cyclonus, still struggling against Scourge. He set the cannon of his weapon against the forehead of the purple flyer, washing away all attempt to free himself and give assistance to Galvatron.

O

The head sensors of Astrotrain fed back another strong shock against the ground as he kept rolling. Clutching Galavatron's body as tight as he could in order to block any attempt of escape, he tried to strengthen his hold on the golden cannon. His hands loosened their grip when pain shut off his motor functions. The reason he continued to process was a mystery, but he could feel very accurately the pain burning his neck, where Galvatron's hands squeezed mercilessly the plating. His hands gripped the wrist, trying to free his neck, but to no avail. Astrotrain shivered when the grip tightened, crushing his vocal processor. Wires snapped and electronic relays short-circuited, making the burning pain almost unbearable.

O

Squeezing, harder and harder: that was the only thing Galvatron could process. Squeeze the silver throat of the mech below him, that unworthy creature that dared interrupting the execution of Megatron.

'_Well, he will get the punishment he deserves!' _

Galvatron tightened his vice-like grip on the neck. Oh! The sensation of warmth below the alloyed skin was so sweet: everything was short-circuiting, melting inside. Oh, the pain he was inflicting to the robot… That should be simply untenable!

The mind of Galvatron started to sink into an ocean of violence, as his self-control grew thin. He eventually felt he was grabbed by the shoulders and sent backwards, before his head connected to the ground.

O

As expected, Galvatron was quickly on his feet again and charged against Grimlock at full speed. Optics blazing with fury, he sent his fist against the Dinobot, blindly aiming at his faceplate. Grimlock took the opportunity to destabilize Galvatron's balance by grabbing the offensive arm, twisting it aside. The Decepticon fell to his knees with a snarl of protest. He glared back at Grimlock and saw that the Dinobot was ready to strike back. He tried to dodge, but his arm was too firmly pinned by the T-Rex. The massive fist of the tyrannosaur Transformer caught him on his already damaged faceplate, adding new dents. Grimlock didn't spare his strength; the head of Galvatron fell on his shoulder, while his neck registered a dangerous pressure and cricked in protest.

O

The body of Galvatron limply fell on the ground as the Dinobot leader released his arm. The only thing that refrained Cyclonus from running to the help of his leader was Octane. The gray fingers still hold the trigger of the gun, now pressing strongly against Cyclonus' forehead.

"Don't tell me you want to add your inputs to this inglorious squabble? Haven't you seen enough?"

Cyclonus didn't answer to the triple changer, looking aside to avoid the sight of his unconscious leader.

O

Blitzwing sat up carefully and ran a quick internal scan to check if anything was wrong. If the landing hadn't damaged his CPU, Megatron had kicked him away just after they had rolled to the ground. Blitzwing passed a hand on his belly and felt that the metal panels had flexed under the shock._ 'Yep! No doubt!'_ The silver tyrant had kicked him strongly enough to displace some wires and chips, according to the noise.

'_Charming day off… Slag it!' _he cursed again.

Back to his feet, he covered the remains of the platform 22 with a bored glance. By his right side, Megatron was laying face to the ground, unmoving, and Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime were sitting beside him. One of them had certainly managed to knock out the silver warrior. Maybe both… By his right side, Galvatron was also down, lying on his back. Grimlock was standing beside him, looking down at his victim; the cask was crackled and slightly deformed, and energon was dripping from several cuts at his forehead and cheeks.

'_Grimlock! Rough and ready, as usual! I wouldn't like to be punched by you!' H_e laughed inwardly and then made out a third bot on the ground. He remembered he hadn't been the only one performing a sensational entrance.

"Astrotrain!"

Blitzwing rushed to the side of his comrade and knelt down. Astrotrain was conscious but seriously dazed. Checking carefully his wounds, the tank helped the shuttle coming back to a sitting position.

"You're okay, Astro?"

Astrotrain opened his mouth but no sound left. Optics flashing in panic, he clutched at his throat and stared with horror at Blitzwing.

"Oh, slag! Galvatron crushed your vocal processor!"

O

"We really came within an ace of catastrophe this time," Rodimus Prime sighed.

"Yes. I would have never thought they were ready to throw away their lives so recklessly," mumbled Optimus Prime.

"What do we do now? We carry them to the repair bay? They're fairly damaged."

"No, not yet. I don't want to take the risk having Ratchet or Wheeljack, or anybody else taken in the middle of crossfire. We need to settle this problem, and now!" Optimus replied. He looked up, staring at the cloudy sky. "What a pitiful scene we offered to the eyes of Salonia!"

O

All the mechs still conscious were too shaken by the terrible scene that had just happened to make out the two glowing golden optics, hidden in the dark of the hallway.

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, Ginza area…**

The sun was starting to decline when Rumble and Nerte blasted a sealed door with their weapons and managed their way out the tunnels of the Tokyo subway. The red brightness of the sunset dazzled them during a few seconds.

"You hear that?" asked Rumble.

"No, what?"

"Exactly… Nothing… We hear nothing anymore! The Salonians have abandoned their pursuit!" he exclaimed, feeling joy warming his neuronal net.

"No, not at all. They just know they don't need to be after us anymore."

"What are you babbling about, woman?" shrieked Rumble, unhappy to have his hope spoiled so quickly.

"Pay more attention to the surroundings. What do you see?"

Rumble scanned with his unique functioning optic the landscape. The neighborhood was flat, planted of ruined buildings and here and there, remains of cars and electric poles. Behind the ruins, he could see the dark blue of a river, mixed with some red of the sun's reflection. By the other side, there was the massive form of the alien ship that he knew under the name of base 0025.

"What do you mean? The base is so close! C'mon! Let's go there!"

"Try again. Have a closer look, Rumble."

The purple little Transformer complied ill humorously and studied again the configuration of the place. The second scan gave him the answer in a blink of the optics.

"There is only one bridge still passable over the river!"

"You start to understand the problem now?" Nerte replied, pointing at the top of the ruins of high buildings. "Salonians snipers are certainly ambushed on the roofs and will shoot whatever or whoever try to cross the bridge."

The mouth of Rumble gapped with deception.

"It will be the same for us if we cross the bridge now. We have to wait for dusk and cross the bridge discreetly. It's our only chance to escape and survive. Now, let's find a place to hide."

Rumble sighed, unnerved by this hitch. Anyway, this break would enable him to perform the minimum patch to his injured body.

* * *

**Base 0025, Medical Repair Bay # 32**

Mirage switched off the screen once the movie was finished.

"Woo! I didn't expect that!" Perceptor stated, slightly bewildered, "And it's a fake according to you?"

"Yeah, the work of an expert, but nonetheless, all that you saw is fake," assured Mirage, "Megatron was certainly not where he's seen and there were other mechs around, but their image had been wiped out. I found out some ghost signals when I scanned the images."

"Could Starscream have made this?"

"I considered that possibility, of course. The fly boy is well-known for his mental instability, but I found something else on the disc."

Both Ratchet and Perceptor raised quizzical optics. "What did you find?"

"A kind of Trojan virus, an executable file, which aims at changing Starscream's core programming. For which purpose? It's what I would like to know, and it's the reason of your presence here, Perceptor."

O

"Did you find something?" asked Ratchet, joining Perceptor and Mirage at the table where the scientist was working.

Perceptor switched silently from alt-mode to robot-mode and stared back to the CMO with surprise.

"Yes, I found something, but it makes me somehow doubting of my capacities. Either I screwed my analysis, either a big part of the reality was missing to our eyes."

"I'm afraid it's the second solution!" Mirage exclaimed.

"Hum, can you precise, Perceptor?" added Ratchet, aware that he was the only one who didn't really grasp the situation.

The scientist remained silent some minutes, obviously sorting out how he would carry his explanations. "Well, you're well aware that our character his included in our spark", he started, "and that our emotions are directly coming from the spark, transcript into feelings thanks to complex programs and algorithms that convert data in thoughts, actions, reactions, adapted to external situations. It looks like the virus works on the programs and algorithms and completely alters them."

"What do you exactly mean?"

"I mean, some of them, such as the program for temperance, were switched off almost by 75, while those commanding the level of physic reactions, were boosted by 50. Logical algorithms were cut by 40."

Ratchet blinked with surprise. "You're just saying that Starscream had been reprogrammed so that his behavior becomes psychotic and violent?" he exclaimed.

"Yes, exactly. But that's not all…"

"Oh, I don't see very well what could be worst than what you've just said!"

"We can't get rid off the Trojan without a massive reprogramming. Until I find a solution, we can't take off the disc, because its removal causes instability in Starscream's systems."

"I see. That was the reason for his fever and crisis," murmured Ratchet.

"There is something I don't understand at this point-," said Mirage, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Who set up Starscream this incredible way?"

"Yes."

"I understand. I'm also eager to find out why the flyer had been trapped. That's a complete nonsense!"

The conversation was interrupted at this point by the moans of the so-called flyer. His red optics flickered, sign that he would soon regain consciousness.

"And what will we explain to him?" asked Ratchet, worried by the potential effects on his weakened patient.

"The partial truth, as long as it doesn't scare him to death."

* * *

**On the stratosphere, at the vertical of the Base 25**

Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia

Inside the command cockpit, the Commander Greebo was frantically pacing, looking at the big black screens: the remains of one of his destroyers was sinking into the deep ocean, shot down by a squadron of Transformers. That was the second in two days, and that was too much for him to accept. His tail hit the command table, leaving sharp dents as he turned abruptly to pace in another direction. He gave out an angry cackle, very similar to the rattle of a snake, and rebuffed his lieutenants in his alien mother tong, in terms that could be translated as follows.

"Who did this? I want the authors of… THIS… to be identified! Next time they'll show up on battle, I want… THEM… to be…DEACTIVATED!! Did I make myself clear, morons?"

"It's… Galvatron and Grimlock, sir!" answered one of the so-called morons.

"Galvatron! Grimlock! When it's not Shockwave, or the two Primes, it's them… I'M FED UP of THEEEM AALLL! I want their heads cut and pinned at the walls of my quarters! I want the head of that silver 'Con, also!!"

The four Salonians before him bowed their long dark head even greater, in the hope to avoid the storm to fall more harshly on them.

"I WANT GALVATRON DEACTIVATED!! And OPTIMUS PRIME, RODIMUS PRIME… All!" he shrieked, drawn again into his frantic pace.

"Commander?" interrupted on of the communication officers.

"WHAAT?" Greebo barked, spitting acid saliva on the ground. A dark smoke rose when the metal melt.

"It looks as if there was a battle on the base 25."

"WHAAAT? Who's the moron who ordered the attack against the base?"

The massive Salonian Commander jumped at the communication table, throwing away the unfortunate officer. His anger calmed down at the second he saw the scene displayed on the screen.

"They fight against each other!" he cackled in awe.

His claws racked the keyboard, switching the camera to different angles. He took particular care to the two bodies that were carried by Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime, for one, and by Grimlock and another Dinobot for the other.

"Galvatron and the silver flyer… They almost slaughtered each other!" he gasped, cackling to himself. He finally turned to his subordinates and rattled a new order. "I want to know why! Activate the spies we have on the field! I want to know why they came that far… and will use it to destroy this damned base from inside!"

**To be continued...**

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/6/24)


	12. Ch 12: Family Squabbles 2

**Chapter 12: Family squabbles (2) – Corridor talks**

**Base 0025, Medical Repair Bay # 32**

"We should allow him some rest. He must be exhausted," declared Ratchet, gently pushing Mirage and Perceptor out of the room.

He threw a last glance to Starscream who had already switched off his optics. The CMO could well imagine how the jet felt after what they had told him. Not the whole truth, of course, but enough to destroy what seemed to be the only purpose on Starscream's life: hating Megatron for "his crime". Besides, he knew Starscream hated repair bays as well. He had heard from Hook that the flyer, in his worst crisis of paranoia, was used to avoid the repair bay even when he was damaged, or stayed online while the Constructicons repaired him. His hatred toward Megatron and the fear that the Decepticon leader got rid of him during this period of weakness were certainly the reasons for this torture.

"Are you sure it is wise to let him alone here?" asked Perceptor, looking at the jet over the shoulders of the medic.

"Look. He's already fallen into recharge. We have to allow him some rest. Imagine his shock and confusion after what we had told him."

"But, I'd rather stay here and have a watch over him. I can be discreet!" protested Mirage.

"I'm the medic here! When I say we leave and let my patient have some rest, you do it, okay?" scolded Ratchet, pushing his two friends outside. He checked one more time that the Seeker was asleep and closed the door.

"He's totally harmless," he assured.

O

Starscream waited some minutes before switching on his optics and came back to sitting position. Scanning the area and increasing the acuity of his audios, he deduced from the silence that the mechs were not spying on him.

'_Autobots! They are so easy to fool!' _

Without a noise, he left the repair berth. He carefully opened the door and slipped in the corridor.

* * *

**Base 0025, ****Not far away ****Medical Repair Bay # 32**

"I've told you five minutes ago. Don't follow me!" scolded Skywarp, glaring hard at the Insecticon.

The smaller Transformer didn't even bother to answer and just grinned at him – the twentieth time, if the purple Seeker was right. The exact number of time he had asked him to go away. "I hate you!" he spat, his patience reduced to nothing.

"I hate you too… too!"

Skywarp took this answer worst than the fist of an Autobot on his faceplate. Words just erupted out of his vocal processor as he felt ready to step on his unwanted companion.

"You! I'm gonna tear your slagging vocal processor out of your-"

He held back his insults and threats as he spotted a very familiar and colorful flyer walking on his direction. Instead of a head proudly raised, he saw a faceplate desperately looking at the ground. The sky-blue hands were not clenched but were grabbing the wall as if the already fragile balance was at its stake.

"Starscream! Are you okay?" Abandoning his previous thoughts toward the Insecticon, Skywarp ran on the direction of his Air Commander and stood in front of him. "Hey! Screamer! You look like if you've been smashed down by Omega Supreme!" he remarked, resting a hand on a red shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Skywarp almost jumped back when the flickering optics of Starscream flashed of a creepy red.

"Don't stay on my way! I don't need your help!" shrieked the Seeker.

"But-"

"Silence! I said: Out of my way!"

Skywarp detailed from head to toes his wing mate with an unusual carefulness and, at loss of what to say or to do, threw a questioning glance at Shrapnel. He realized the Insecticon was watching with equal attention the trembling Seeker.

"Well, if you wish so… But you look pretty messed up," he eventually replied, drawing aside to let the way open. "You should have yourself checked by the medical team…"

"Mind your own business!"

With this last remark, Starscream walked away with the same unsteady balance and slow pace. Both Skywarp and Shrapnel remained silent, until the back of the flyer disappeared at a corner of the hallway.

"What's going on… on? With him… him?"

"Don't know. He looks like the bad old Screamer, Mister Paranoia with his legendary bad mood, the one who is just able to throw angrily "I hate you all, leave me alone!" to everyone!" mumbled Skywarp. "Crap! I hate him when he acts like that!"

Skywarp felt in silence during few seconds, looking thoughtful.

"He's a real mess but he's not going to rest as he's walking in the opposite direction of his quarters… I wonder where," he added, "I'd better warn the guys of the repair bay."

All at his new mission, he stepped on the direction of the repair bay, a little quicker than before, with a silent Shrapnel on his heels.

O

"I have to find him! I have to ask him!" repeated Starscream, still holding the wall.

What the medical officer and the two other Autobots had told his was just beyond his expectations. The truth he had been told from Galvatron was a lie and his dream about the truth was the reality. Confusion was clouding his mind and there was the only way to escape this chaos of emotions and thoughts he was lost into. He needed a confirmation from Megatron to accept that most of his life was built on a lie, and that he could hope again.

* * *

**Platform 22**

"What a terrible waste of time and energy," murmured Skyfire, looking at the remains of the platform 22.

"Yes. It's even more demoralizing if you consider this platform was perfect to take off for long-distance missions to the Asian continent. Now, we'll have to use the platform 35, on the other side of the base!" completed Dirge, shaking his head with annoyance.

"True. Maybe Prime should explain to Megatron and Galvatron that our situation is complicated enough, and we don't need to make things more difficult," agreed Skyfire. The white shuttle crossed his arms over his chest and sank into the silent contemplation of his surroundings, until his COM'link beeped. "Yes, Skyfire in."

_(Ratchet in. I need your help, Sky…)_

The shuttle quizzically looked at Dirge, who had also detected panic in the voice of the CMO.

"What's going on? Megatron or Galvatron are rebelling on their repair berths?" he asked. Inwardly, he hoped it wasn't the case.

_(What are you talking about? Galvatron or Megatron are not here! Skywarp and Shrapnel told me that Starscream was heading to somewhere. He's in shock, totally messed up, and he must be brought to his quarters, or better, to this repair bay. Please find him A.S.A.P!)_

"What is he talking about?" asked Dirge, walking to the shuttle to better listen to the bribes of information delivered by the medic.

"I don't know-," Skyfire replied, "Ratchet, you have to give me more information if you want to convince me to go after him."

* * *

**In the ****high-security level of the base**

'_Oh, my head! It hurts!' _

It was the first thought Megatron could process while coming back online. He slowly switched on his optics and scanned the surroundings. It took some seconds for him to get a clear picture of the place as some of his censors were not correctly functioning.

"Argh! Prime's punches are as deadly as before," he breathed. He tried to reach his head with his hands but discovered he was properly handcuffed at his chair. "What the slag-"

"Oh! Snow White has just awoken from her nap!"

Megatron immediately tensed up, irritated by both the voice and the comment of his brother. He really hated this voice, so close to his own vocal frequency, even if a little more raspy and high-pitched. He glared at the other mech, sat at the other side of a large metal table, whose optics were set on him with the same intensity as his.

"You're still alive. I'll never understand why losers like you are that resistant!" snapped Megatron.

Galvatron gave out a growl of dissatisfaction. "Loser yourself! You look like you were ready for the pit!" he spat back.

"And you think you look better, you insane paranoid! Your cask is so cracked that it's ready to split in two! Oh! Nice dents on your cheeks!" Megatron hissed, aware that his face was suffering from the same disgrace.

"Insane paranoid... Me? Is it me who came to the platform and attacked me without prior notice? Idiot!" the purple mech muttered, starting to pull on his shackles to get free.

"Idiot? Nobody calls me idiot, you disgusting moron! And the one who started the war between us, it's you, and nobody else!" shrieked back the silver warrior, trying to do the same with the energy shackles.

"I call you what I want! You old-fashioned gun!"

"I'm not old-fashioned, you glitch!"

"Old rust can!"

"Idiot and cretin!"

"**Silence!"**

The vocal processors of the two brothers became silent when the animalistic growl reached their audios.

"Oh, I've forgotten the over-grown lizard was our guardian. What a nice day!" Galvatron sighed, turning his head in the direction where the voice was coming from. "I'm stuck here with a moron and a halfwit!"

"Grimlock?" asked Megatron, trying to make out the face of the tall robot sat in the shadows of a corner.

"Me, Grimlock, here to keep watch over you. Prime doesn't trust you… Authorized me, Grimlock, to use brute force to keep you quiet."

"Fantastic!" mumbled Megatron, tilting his head back, "And you planned to keep us quiet and watching over us during your whole life? Call Prime and this traitor of Shockwave here!"

"Me Grimlock, don't receive order from you!"

"You single-connector CPU, I said CALL PRIME!" shrieked Megatron.

"That won't be necessary, Megatron, I'm already here," answered a voice well known by the two former Decepticons. The two gunners peered in the direction of the door, which was opened on Optimus Prime and Shockwave.

"Oh! Nice! People with more conversation than the dinosaur or my brother!" Galvatron sniggered, taking a sardonic expression.

The blue optics of Optimus Prime flashed of an unusual light when he set his gaze over the younger brother.

"I'm not here for conversation or jokes, but to be sure that you won't fight like you did, two hours ago. I swear I'm not willing to let you go before I get insured you'll never do it again!"

"You're losing your time, Prime!" retorted Megatron. "You'll get nothing from us except battle and harsh words. There is no other solution than the termination of one of us by the other!" he barked, pulling on his shackles.

"You're wrong. I don't know why you hate each other so much, but I'll find out why, even if I have to get the answer out of your databank and reprogram your logic system," Optimus Prime replied, shaking his head. The former Autobot leader walked to Megatron and leaned forward on him. "Besides, I know who is going to help us on that!" he added.

None of the two brothers dared to make a comment, trying to decrypt on the masked face the underneath meaning of this statement. Optimus Prime stood up and activated his com'link.

_(Rodimus in. Yes, Optimus?)_

"I need you to bring me somebody here, as soon as possible."

* * *

**Back to the Repair Bay #32**

"I should have checked this damned Seeker twice!" mumbled Ratchet, pulling harshly some wires from the inside of Skywarp's foot. "I should have known him better! Starscream is formatted for treachery!!"

"Arghh! Hey! It hurts!" complained the purple and black Seeker, tears of energon at the corner of the optics.

"You! Stop whining and wriggling like a maggot!" the CMO dryly replied. "Otherwise, I will end up crashing some wires!"

"Hey I'm not wriggling! I'm not a maggot! And you're already cra-" Ratchet glared harshly at him and Skywarp gulped. "Okay, I shut up," the Jet admitted.

The CMO came back to his task, while the Seeker tried to hold back his wriggling and whimpering. Calm didn't last more than a few minutes; the door of the medical repair bay opened on Blietzwing and Astrotrain. The voice of Ratchet almost got stuck in his vocal processor when he realized the dire strait of the two.

"Hey! Decepticons! I'm warning you! This place is not a Decepticreep repair bay, where you can be nursed after your little Con's fantasies!" he shrieked, pulling nervously on Skywarp's wires.

Blietzwing lazily looked at him, readjusting his hold on Astrotrain.

"Yeah, Ratchet, I love you too! I guess that you had already welcomed good old Megs and good old Galvy on your repair bay, and that they carried on insulting each other - and you also - and that you're pissed off. We're all pissed off today, you know…"

"What are you talking about? There is no Megatron or Galvatron here!" snapped back the Medical Officer, standing up. "Why, they should be here?"

"You don't know what happened two hours ago?"

"I know what happened! Well, more or less…I got a brief report from Skyfire. Why did you think they should be here? Were they hurt?"

Blitzwing's mouth twisted, sign that he wasn't sure he should end up his explanations.

"They weren't in an ideal condition…" he evasively replied.

"Hey! You want to stay outside or be authorized to enter this room?" threatened Ratchet. "Answer my question!"

Two pairs of optics set on Astrotrain when a distorted moan escaped his vocal processor.

"Megs was knocked off by Rody and Optimus, and Galvy got a good kiss from Greemy… See what I mean? After that, Optimus required Rodimus and Grimlock to carry them where you know… Can we come in now?"

The fist of the Medic slammed against the wall, giving the three Decepticons a start.

"Primus! Optimus gets weird again! Since the deactivation of Alita during Cybertron destruction, he had really changed his mind!" spat Ratchet as he beckoned to Astrotrain and Blietzwing to enter. "Ratchet in. Hook! Wheeljack! You got me? I need you here!" he shrieked through his COM' link.

_(Wheeljack in, Ratchet. Okay, we're here in about five minutes. We've finished the work on the two Insecticons.)_

* * *

**West command Room**

"I know that Rumble is outside and hurt!" Soundwave replied of his harmonic voice. "It's out of question that I abandon him to follow you!"

"Yeah, would be time to care about him, after throwing him and us like dust!" spat Frenzy, curling against Ravage and the two oak spies.

Rodimus Prime looked at the four Cassetticons that where sat in the corner of the room, and then looked back at Soundwave. The former cassette deck was displaying a surprising quietness despite the situation. Rodimus Prime briefly wondered if, beneath the masked face and the visor, there were some glimpses of emotions. According to the quick report of Blaster, there had. That was Rodimus Prime feared the most.

'_Primus, they've all been far too much emotional since they came back online. Megatron, Galvatron, Starscream, and who is next? Soundwave? Decepticons are really unable to hold back their feelings. They just explode and blow everybody or everything around!_' he pondered. _'We should imprison them in a cell and throw the key away. Optimus is wrong if he thinks we can settle their problems and change their characters. And he is even more wrong if he thinks that Soundwave is going to help us!'' _

However, his duty was not to discuss about the validity of Optimus Prime's strategy, but to bring back Soundwave to the cell where Megatron and Galvatron were kept. Period.

"I know how you can feel right now, Soundwave, but my orders are clear; bringing you to Optimus and Shockwave… by all means!" warned the car Transformer.

Soundwave's visor flashed a little as he clenched his fists. Rodimus Prime felt his body tensing up at this sign of animosity and noticed the changed of atmosphere. Throwing a glance on his side, he saw that Blaster, Blurr and Thundercracker were also on their guard. The situation somehow reminded him the clash between Megatron and Galvatron, one hour before.

"It doesn't change my opinion."

"Soundwave, if you refuse to follow me, I'll have to arrest you and bring you by force. But-" he said, emphasizing the last word.

"But?"

"But, if you cooperate, I'll ask Prowl and Jazz to lead a mission and retrieve Rumble from the city. I'm sure that Blaster, Blurr and Thundercracker will be happy to help."

Rodimus Prime felt his mind put at ease when he saw the three Transformers nodding silently, including the former Decepticon Jet. The atmosphere didn't relax that much, a deep silence falling on the protagonists. Even the Cassetticons were dumb and silent, waiting that Soundwave took a decision.

"I follow you if you promise you'll bring me Rumble alive," the Navy blue Jet finally replied.

Rodimus Prime reduced the distance between him and Soundwave and peered at the red optic visor.

"I swear we're going to do our best."

* * *

**Not far away the repair bay**

Finding Starscream had been as easy as a child play. Skyfire, aware of the revelation that the Seeker had been struck by, concluded that the first thing he was up to do would be to find Megatron. He headed first to the medical repair bay, and then took the direction of Megatron's quarters. In few minutes, he had made out the back of the one who used to be his friend. Starscream was unsteadily walking and wouldn't be difficult to bring back to his repair berth.

Skyfire walked toward the Seeker without a noise, and unhesitating, set a large white hand on his shoulder.

"Get your hand off me!" the Seeker barked. He gave out a muffled cry when he saw who it was. "Skyfire!"

The shuttle nodded at his name.

"You shouldn't be here, Starscream. Ratchet asked me to bring you back at your quarters, but I strongly think you need to stay at the repair bay. "

"No, I don't want! Not now… I have to discuss with Megatron first!" gasped the Seeker, twisting his body in order to get Skyfire's hand off his shoulder.

The giant robot's expression darkened a little at the name.

"I've never understood why you always turn to him. He had always caused you troubles, destroyed your hopes and twisted your personality, but still, you're completely dependent on him! What do you want from him? More tortures?" he growled, firming his grip on the red shoulder. "A twisted and wicked relationship, like the one you are stuck in for millions years?"

"Please Skyfire, let me go!" yelled Starscream, trying to push away the hand, "By the name of our old friendship, let me go!"

The Seeker pushed another cry, this time of pain, when the palm almost crushed his shoulder.

"Don't speak about something that doesn't exist anymore! I've stopped believing in our friendship the day you shot me in cold blood to satisfy your dear Megatron!" Skyfire spat, his hand squeezing Starscream's shoulder even more strongly.

"Skyfire! Please let me go! You're hurting me! AAAHHHhh!"

The shuttle looked down at the Seeker. His first thought was to give Starscream the punishment he deserved for the destruction of their past friendship. Somehow, the cry and the panic of the Seeker appeased him, and Skyfire finally released his prey, discarding any feeling of revenge. Starscream stumbled against the wall, holding his shoulder and threw a horrified glance at the white Transformer.

"Wh-Why?" he stuttered in shock.

"Because you deserved it!" Skyfire retorted, "Now listen: Megatron is not in his quarters, but he's under custody somewhere in the base."

"What… Why?"

"He attacked Galvatron, and the two almost killed each other. Prime ordered to lock them in a place he can control them and forced them to settle their quarrel."

The optics of the Seeker flashed with a wicked light. "I have to go there, Skyfire. Tell me where it is!" he raggedly breathed.

"No. I don't let you go anywhere in such a condition! I bring you back to Ratchet!" Skyfire replied, reaching to grab again the Seeker.

Starscream waved the large palm away with his two hands.

"You don't understand! It's about the two of them! I must know!" he cried, desperate.

* * *

**West command room**

"Here. Rumble escaped from the west of the base, in the direction of the ruins of Ginza," explained Prowl, pointing on the screen the small frame of the Cassetticon on the security recording. "- And then, about two hours later, our videos spotted explosions between Ginza and Asakusa. Everything has come back to normal now, but it's possible that little Rumble was on the middle of it."

"Any sign of him since?" asked Thundercracker, crossing his arms on his chest.

"No, not yet. I'll check again with the twins. They're in guard duty outside the base."

* * *

**Outside the base**

_(Sunny, you're here?) _

"Yes, Prowl. Side and I are in position in the sector 3EQ, beside the Sakurabashi Bridge," answered the yellow Lamborghini. "And guess what, I guess we've found your man!"

_(What do you mean?) _

"I mean… Side saw something small and metallic moving on the other side of the river. Didn't you Side?" Sunstreaker turned to his brother and grimaced as Sideswipe didn't reply or even move. "Hey, Side! I'm talking to ya!" whined Sunstreaker, elbowing the red Lamborghini.

"Sunny, knock it off!" mumbled Sideswipe, adapting his binoculars. "I think the little punk is not alone!"

O

"Sounds like the way is clear. Let's go!"

Rumble welcomed with a kind of joy the "order" of Nerte and landed just behind her. The hour and a half of stand-by had enabled him to fix his legs in order to afford him this escape on the bridge. He didn't regret the time spent on his repairing: the field was pretty uneven. The first thing he saw was a wall of metal scraps: several cars were piled here and there, including the remains of their drivers. Rumble didn't even pay attention to them; human antics were not his taste. He kept running, his pace gradually increasing to match the human.

A first laser shot a car in front of them, forcing them to change direction. Nerte jumped on the bonnet of the next car and stumbled behind, as the metal was transpierced by new shots. Rumble, understanding he could not do the same without being shot himself, transformed in his cassette mode. His legs and arms stretched against his body and the panel in his torsos retracted, in order to decrease his size. His square and thin shape enabled him to slide on the bonnet and to fall at Nerte's side. When he felt his body unmoving, he switched back to his robot mode with the so characteristic noise of transformation.

"Well done!" said Nerte. She pointed at the other side of the river, "Let's do it some more times, and we will be free," she assured.

"And what are you waiting to go on?"

Nerte looked at him and outlined a little smile. That was the first friendly comment she got from this little grumpy robot. She nodded in agreement and dashed out their hiding place, but found herself landing on her stomach as a shock wave rocked the structure of the bridge.

"What happened? Is this an earthquake?" Rumble squealed.

The answer came on the form of a big crack that split the asphalt of the bridge, leading to a protuberance in its middle. In a deafening noise, the road cracked open like a volcano in eruption, sending cars and ballast overboard.

"Watch out!" warned Nerte, watching the car they were hiding behind slipping slowly to the edge of the bridge. She caught Rumble by a wrist and pulled him back. The little Transformer complied under the surprise, and they ran on the direction of the bank they were coming from.

"Aren't we uncover?" whined Rumble. "The snipers! They're going to shoot us to death!"

"Look behind, and you'll see that we have a bigger problem here!" answered Nerte, running quicker and quicker.

Worried by the answer, Rumble looked over his shoulder and understood that the current destruction of the bridge had nothing to do with a volcano. In a metallic noise of heavy mechanism, a giant four-footed robot emerged from the scraps, the top of his body towering some twenty feet over the surface.

* * *

**Base 0025, Medical Repair Bay # 32**

Shrapnel entered discreetly into the repair room, taking advantage of the panic spreading in the repair bay. Ratchet was tending to Astrotrain's vocal processor, while Hook and Wheeljack were working on Skywarp and Blitzwing. Nobody had paid attention to him, and that was just perfect. He gazed at the back of Red Alert, who was fixing wires in the chest of Kickback. His antennas twitched and his optics glittered, as the only signs of the real mess his feelings were. Time was not to be spent on such things; he had more important things to do.

He walked closer to the repair berth, careful to make no noise. He stopped just behind Red Alert and set his palm on the red arms. As expected, the vehicle Transformer started in surprise.

"Shrapnel! What… What are you doing here?"

"Just checking… Checking. Are they going to be okay? Okay?" asked the Insecticon.

Red Alert looked at him, slightly un-at-ease with the concern he could read on the red optics, then relaxed a little.

"Do not worry… I'm just fixing some minor circuits on Kickback, and he will be ready for the reactivation. Bombshell is already on the starting blocks."

"Isn't that dangerous for them… Them?"

"No, absolutely not. Their spark needs an electric shock to be restarted and then stimulate the other systems. It's a somehow like restarting the heart of humans once it has stopped."

"I see… See," nodded Shrapnel, suddenly thoughtful.

The Insecticon trotted along to a complicated control panel and inspected it with great attention.

"It's the computer… Computer operating the reactivation process…process?" he asked.

"Yes… How do you know?" asked Red Alert, a little suspicious.

The Insecticon suddenly turned around and targeted the alert vehicle with his rifle.

"Doesn't matter… Matter. Proceed to the operation… Operation."

"Shrapnel! You don't wanna do that!" protested Red Alert. He chocked his words when he felt the barrel setting on his chest plate.

"I said… Said… Proceed to the reactivation… reactivation… **Now!**"

**To be continued…**

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/6/26)


	13. Ch 13: Family Squabbles 3

**Chapter 13: Family squabbles (3) - Where the truth lies**

**In the high-security level of the base**

Megatron glanced warily at the two new comers. That was not the presence of Rodimus Prime that surprised him but the attendance of his former Communication Officer. Soundwave looked unusually un-at-ease and was hiding his rigid form behind the red car Transformer.

"Who is he?" asked Galvatron, staring suspiciously at the blue mech. By what Megatron could see, his brother was extremely troubled – if not worried – by this new player. He had also deduced what Optimus Prime was up to.

"That's what you meant when you threatened us to drag the truth out of our memory units?" he asked with anger, glaring back at his old nemesis. "You pushed the nerve to summon my Communication Officer in order to have him delve into my databank, didn't you, Prime?"

"Yes, you're not giving me the choice… You're not giving the choice to anybody here!" the truck Transformer retorted and then nodding, "Soundwave! Please, proceed!" he ordered.

The optics of Megatron flashed with anger when he saw Soundwave moving away from the entrance and walking in his direction.

"No way, Prime! Nobody forces my memory unit!" he barked, glaring wickedly at Soundwave. The former cassette deck stopped and looked at Optimus, waiting for the confirmation of the order. "What do you want to know, Prime? How we came to fight each other?" continued Megatron, "When he tried to assassinate me one night, as his insanity and jealousy took the best of him!"

"Lies!" spat back Galvatron, "I was just making sure you wouldn't threaten my life anymore. I had been watching for days and days, while you trying to assassinate me!"

"Don't make me laugh with this bad story of yours!" mocked the silver warrior.

"Oh no, that's not making you laugh, isn't it? Would you admit that you tried to kill your own brother by the name of your own glory and ambitions?" retorted the purple and grey warlord.

Galvatron and Megatron looked at each other with a glare full of despise.

"Soundwave?" asked Optimus Prime.

"They both believe they're saying the truth. I cannot say more without inspecting their memory banks," the blue mech informed.

"Then proceed," ordered Shockwave, crossing his hands on his chest.

Soundwave walked to Megatron, his shadow hiding slowly the form of his former commander.

"I warn you, soldier; any attempt to violate the integrity of my memory will be sanctioned by death!" shrieked Megatron, trying to free his hands from the shackles. He looked up when Soundwave stopped in front of him, holding up his hand to touch the silver forehead. "Soundwave! Don't-"

* * *

**Not that far away**

"Skyfire! Please, put me down!" protested Starscream, wriggling to go off the shuttle's shoulders. Skyfire set a hand on his back, preventing him to move any further.

"Patience, old friend. We're almost arrived," replied calmly Skyfire.

"I don't want to go to the repair bay! I want to see Megatron!" complained Starscream, trying one more time to escape the grip of his former partner.

Understanding that it would no avail, he sighed and rested his head on the white back, diving in the despair of surrender. He turned off his optics and just listened to the footsteps of Skyfire, lulled by the steady movement of the shuttle's walk.

He started when he felt Skyfire had stopped and was pulling him off his shoulders. He switched on his optics and stared at the big black door, inhospitable as the door of a jail, which blocked the way.

"Where are we? That's not the repair bay, isn't it?" he asked, staring with surprise at the shuttle Transformer.

"No, that's not the repair bay," Skyfire replied, "This is the place where Megatron is being kept under custody."

Starscream stood open-mouthed, unable to say a word.

* * *

**Back to the high-security level of the base…**

The optics of Megatron flickered and then alternatively switched on and off several times.

"Galvatron… was waiting on ambush that night, in my quarters… Fired at me in the back… Let me for deactivated," he spoke slowly.

"Oh! Stop with this nonsense!" Galvatron barked, "I've never been in your quarters that night. Even less tried to kill you! But you, you were trying to kill me at the same time."

"Keep silent!" warned Optimus Prime, turning his gaze to the purple warlord. "Your turn will come after."

"Slagging Autobot!" snarled Galvatron.

"I survived… Shockwave found me… I was repaired… I searched for Galvatron and tried to shoot him to death, but Cyclonus diverted the shot. They fled away. I didn't hear about them for months, until I was informed Galvatron had raised his own army and was complotting against me-"

"Unworthy brother! You tried to kill me without a reason, and this imaginary complot is just a lame excuse to hide it. Call me insane after!" grumbled Galvatron. He lowered his head when Shockwave and Grimlock glared in annoyance at him.

"Then came the day I've paid a visit to Shootingstar. Galvatron was here, also… Maybe he wanted – like me – to get the support of the Cybertron supreme Space Commander?" Megatron said, resting his head back, "When he saw I was here, he shot Shootingstar and his elder son and damaged myself-"

All the onlookers peered at the Decepticon Leader and gapped under the shock of what have been said. The truth about this event, one of the major turns in the conflict, seemed very different from the official version. No one took notice of the opening door.

"Lies, again and again! I was not even there when YOU KILLED Shootingstar!" Galvatron ranted.

"And me, I believe in what Megatron has said!" a screechy voice exclaimed. The purple warrior, unable to identify it, stared hard at the red, blue and silver flyer, who glared back with hatred.

"Who are you?" Galvatron asked.

"Dare pretending that you don't know me! I am Starscream, Megatron's second in command and son of Shootingstar!" the jet spat. "And now… Death to you, murderer!"

O

Soundwave started at the terrible cry and cut the connection with Megatron's memory bank. The blue mech withdrew his hand and winced slightly, while Megatron regained full consciousness.

"What happened? This voice-" he whispered.

The crimson optics flared of a brilliant red and searched the owner of the screechy voice. Megatron recognized immediately the owner of the shrill voice throwing death treats at Galvatron. He reactivated his optical sensors and saw that Starscream had his hands firmly squeezing Galvatron's neck. His brother's hands were desperately scratching the armrests in an attempt to break the shackles.

"Starscream, stop that! Do not interfere!" he warned.

Unfortunately, his Air Commander, focused on the killing, ignored the warning. Grimlock reached the flyer and delivered him a strong punch in the head, sending Starscream flying backwards. The Seeker fell on the ground and gave out a cry of agony, while his optics dimmed and then went black.

Megatron looked at his brother; Galvatron had rested his head on the back of his seat and was trying to regain control of his senses. He then covered the fallen Seeker with a distressed expression; moans of pain escaped Starscream as he was struggling against unconsciousness.

"Are you satisfied, now, Prime?" he muttered.

"No, Megatron, I'm not. And I hope that now you understand why your fratricidal war must stop."

On the banks of the Sumida River

Sunstreaker couldn't help pushing a scream of surprise and grabbed the wrist of his twin. Sideswipe had already spotted the problem obstructing the view on the other side of the river.

"Oh great Primus! A Super Tanker!" he exclaimed.

"Where the hell is it coming from?" shouted Sunstreaker, holding his weapon, ready to fire.

"Naah! What do you think you're doing?" snarled Sideswipe, "This thing is several fifty feet tall, filled with weapons and… It just came out the river while it was NOT supposed to be there!"

"So what?" the yellow Lamborghini barked.

"We retreat, for now. We have to call for reinforcement, moron!" spat the red one.

"Moron yourself!"

The "Super Tanker" made a new step forward. His giant foot dived into the flow in a large spray of water, creating a small quake when it hit the aquatic ground. The yellow car Transformer and his twin landed on their bottom with a cry.

"Hey! You're waiting what to call your reinforcement!" Sunstreaker spat, spitting dust.

"Shut up, you!"

* * *

**West command Room**

_(Sideswipe to Prowl. Prowl, do you copy!?)_

All the mechs on the command room started when the panicking voice of the red Lamborghini boomed through the crackling Com'link of Prowl.

"Yeah, Prowl, I copy. Side, what's going on?"

_(What's going on? Very simple; a super Tanker has just emerged in front of us… Right from the depth of the river! Instead of trying to kick our ass, the metal box is chasing the little Decepticrip and the thing with him. Call RENFORCEMENT, immediately!)_

"A Super Tanker coming out from the river? Side! If it is one of your new joke, I swear-"

_(Boss! Check your screens. I gonna send you some shots!)_

"Side! Wait! What do you-?"

Prowl stopped his protests when the main screen came to life, showing what Sideswipe was filming at the same time.

"By the name of Primus, what is that?" Thundercracker exclaimed, coming closer to better inspect if what he saw was real.

Prowl gapped in surprise at the giant metallic carcass expunging water from his flanks; he didn't expect at all that thing would come out from there. Three meters from him, Thundercracker was more and more disconcerted by this mechanism.

"What's that thing is? How many feet is it tall? And wait! It has nearly hundreds of cannons out of his flank. And-"

The Jet started when Jazz gripped his arm and shook him, as to awake him from this nightmare.

"Calm down buddy!" the visor-equipped Transformer stated before turning to his officer. "Prowl?" he asked.

The jaw of the tactician shut, before it opened again to spit an order.

"Call me everybody that is on duty today. Cancel all holidays as well. I want all available forces here and ready to attack this Super Tanker within half an hour!"

Silence welcomed his command, all optics set on him.

"We need the agreement of Optimus Prime, or Shockwave," Jazz objected.

"I'll contact him," Prowl replied, suddenly nervous, "Now go! Prepare yourself! I'll call the others!"

Unnerved by the silence and the unusual quite behavior of Jazz, Thundercracker finally lost his composure.

"Is somebody going to tell me-" he barked, while Jazz started to drag him out of the control room. "-what this is "gigantic" piece of slag is!?". To his growing irritation, Blurr and Blaster took hold of his arms and pulled him on the direction of the exit. "Hey! I want answer. What is that thing?" he growled, holding back.

Jazz pushed him further out of the room so that the blue jet found himself on the corridor, still flanked by his two "guards".

"You'll see fly boy, you'll see it soon enough!" said Jazz.

O

Prowl didn't wait that his second officer leaves the room to check on Teletran II who was on duty and who was potentially available. The computer instantly gave him the answers he was eager to hear.

_(Unit Skyfire: currently waiting outside the Custody Chamber number 1. Available for battle.)_

"Skyfire? What are you doing there?"

_(Unit Starscream: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Damaged. Unavailable.)_

"I see-" Prowl sighed, "Skyfire, you're stupid sometimes."

_(Unit Megatron: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Damaged. Unavailable… Unit Galvatron: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Damaged. Unavailable… Unit Optimus Prime: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Check in progress…)_

Prowl started to strike rhythmically the surface of his command panel with his fingers.

_(Unit Shockwave: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Check in progress… Unit Grimlock: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Available upon agreement of superior officer… Unit Rodimus Prime: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Unavailable-)_

"Dammit!" cursed Prowl, slamming the console, "What are you all playing at in this Custody Chamber 1?"

_(Unit Soundwave: located in Custody Chamber number 1. Available upon agreement of superior officer-)_

"Oh, yeah! How could it be else? Slag it, Prime! Sometimes, you make my work so hard!" mumbled Prowl.

_(Unit Cyclonus. Currently waiting outside the Custody Chamber number 1. Available for battle-) _

"What! Him also?"

_(Unit Scourge: located in upper deck number 5. Available for battle… Unit Skywarp: located in Repair Bay number 32. Available for battle…)_

The tactical Officer somehow relaxed when the computer listed some available warriors.

"Thanks to Primus, at least not everybody's in this slagging Custody Chamber 1!" he sighed, activating his COM'link.

_(Unit Shrapnel: location unknown. Search in progress...)_

* * *

**High Security Level**

Starscream slowly powered his audio and optical components online but didn't recognize where he was at first. Still blurred, his optics focused on the light grey flyer who was sat beside him.

"Megatron?" he whispered.

"Starscream, keep silent!"

The answer was indistinct, like all the other noises. _'Crap, my audios and optics are malfunctioning!'_ he cursed inwardly. Starscream sighed and ran a quick scan. His internal computer suggested he had received a strong punch, but he couldn't remember who had been his opponent.

"Megatron? What happened to me?" he plaintively asked.

"Not now Starscream, not now!" was the reply.

The Seeker complied silently and tried to sort information on his data bank. His logic system was scrambled, and he had to launch three inquiries before getting an access. Everything came back to his memory in a nano-click; his stay at the repair bay and his sickness following the removal of the disc, and then the terrible revelation by the three Autobots. He recollected also he had begged Skyfire for help and tried to strangle Galvatron to death. Yes, Galvatron, the liar who pretended to not recognize him! Where was he? Scanning his surroundings, Starscream understood he was sat around a dark table. Megatron was by his side and the one called Galvatron, in front of him. Hatred filled his spark when he looked at the purple and silver bot. He tried to stand up but couldn't; his arms were like welded to the armrests.

"Why am I hand-cuffed? Why? Why! Free me right now!" he screeched.

O

"Starscream, calm down!" ordered Megatron, staring at Soundwave while he was reading the thoughts of Galvatron.

The cries of the flyer didn't stop at all while Starscream entered in complete panic. That was not a so surprising behavior; his second in command had always hated being restricted or locked. Megatron had always thought it came from both his nature of jet and his paranoia and had used – if not abused - of this threat to keep him into control. It had always worked, after hours and hours of Starscream yelling, screaming and ranting so loud that nobody at the Decepticon base could recharge in peace. However, it was not the time to challenge Starscream's vocal ability. Megatron wanted to listen to Galvatron; his brother was still pretending he had never attempted to his life in the past. Knowing that nobody could hide his thoughts from Soundwave, the conclusion appeared in his whole incredibility. _'Is it possible that we've been set up?'_ he wondered, not even willing to believe that his CPU could process such an idea.

"Prime! Free me a hand… Only a hand! I know how to shut Starscream down," he groaned at Optimus Prime.

The red Transformer glared at him.

"Fair enough!" the red Transformer said, switching off the energy shackle on Megatron's right arm. He then glared at him and sighed "I don't want to know how you will," he stated.

"The only way that can work on him now-"

While everybody expected a fist to slam into the head of the flyer, it was an ebony hand that covered gently a sky-blue wrist. Megatron covered the scared Seeker with a surprisingly gentle look.

"Look at me Starscream," he whispered, "Calm down. I am here, and I won't let anything bad happen to you."

The Seeker gazed at him with a frightened look in his flickering optics. Megatron could hear his internal machinery processing erratically the air that his vents absorbed in a loud whiz. _'Something is wrong with him,'_ he pondered, alarmed by the extreme panic that overcame the flyer. _'Never in the worst times, had he been so out-of control. There is something else.'_

"Calm down Starscream, nobody is going to hurt you!" he repeated, his hand sliding to cover the trembling fingers.

The raged breathing of the Seeker eased up slowly, and he finally nodded, while his body went limp on his chair. He lowered his head when he realized that all the bots were looking at him, except Galvatron, who was in an hypnotic state. Soundwave had kept his hand locked against the Con's forehead and was ready to continue the examination of his thoughts.

"The disc… Ask him for the disc," Starscream panted, "Why did he give me that?"

The optics of Galvatron flickered and then came back online.

"I never gave him the disc… I know nothing about… The disc… I don't even know this Seeker."

Megatron squeezed Starscream's hand a little stronger, biting his lips.

"It can't be! It can't be!" repeated the Seeker in complete shock.

Soundwave cut the connection with Galvatron and then stared at his audience.

"Probability that he's telling the truth: 99.9. Unneeded to continue the process. I suggest abortion of the operation," he firmly stated.

Complete silence welcomed his conclusion while no doubt was left about the Truth.

'_We've been fooled, Galvatron, Starscream and me. Set up so that we kill each others? Who? Why?'_

* * *

**Outside the Interrogation Chamber**

"What are you doing here?"

Skyfire peeped in the direction of the voice that had called out him so dryly. He spotted immediately the purple glittering of the armor associated to the arrogant tone and understood the flyer was in a bad mood. Worries about his crazy commander tended to transform the calm and intelligent mech into a real bastard.

"I should return you the same question, Cyclonus!"

The so-called robot shrugged his shoulders with despise.

"I'm here to make sure Optimus Prime is not going over his rights toward his collaborators and especially Lord Galvatron," he reluctantly replied.

"Oh, really? Then, we came for the same purpose," retorted Skyfire.

"It looks like, but I guess you haven't come for the welfare of Megatron but rather for the "beautiful optics" of his little pet. What's his name again? Ah, yes! Starscream…"

The white shuttle Transformer tensed up at the mockery. "He's NOT Megatron's pet," Skyfire hissed, "And-"

"And you brought him here, knowing very well this is a restricted area accessible only to high officers. In the case you have forgotten, Starscream - like all the recently revived Decepticons – has no rank yet!" growled Cyclonus, "And you're not a high officer!"

"And so what?" Skyfire replied, upset. He stood straight and puffed his chest to emphasize his tall stature. "It's not your business. Do I mind the business of Galvatron's pet?"

The face of Cyclonus turned to deep anger.

"I'm going to make you swallow this insult, Skyfire!" he shrieked, his fist ready to claim vengeance. Only the crackling of his COM link prevented him to punch the chest of the shuttle.

_(Skyfire! Cyclonus! Go to platform 45 and be ready to take off for a raid on sector 5! This is a red alert!)_

"What's the matter Prowl?" Cyclonus rasped, obviously disappointed to abort his dispute, "How can it be a red alert so suddenly? No enemy had been tracked on the area!"

_(It's a Super Tanker, Cyclonus. It came out the river without prior notice!)_

"Are you joking?"

It was not in the habit of the tactician to cut the COM'link in the middle of a conversation, but Prowl didn't answer this last question. Cyclonus glared resentfully at Skyfire and walked away.

"Follow me, soldier. It looks like we have something more urgent to deal with than what's happening in this custody chamber," he stated. _'But I won't forget your insults, Skyfire,'_ he added to himself, _'you will pay for them.'_

Skyfire sighed but complied with the order; after all, Cyclonus was a higher-ranked officer than he was.

Somewhere in the base

Dirge was walking without purpose in a corridor when his internal communication system fed back a message from Prowl. He rarely received messages, as he was taciturn by nature and spent all his time by himself. No real qualities to develop friendship. Moreover, he was used to shut down his COM'link just in case somebody tried to break the ice that he had built around him. Giving up his hesitations, Dirge opened the message and felt a kind of coldness clenching his spark.

"A red alert. The first in three years... There must be something serious happening out there," he mumbled and then hurried to the indicated departure ramp.

* * *

**Medical Repair Bay # 32**

"Ratchet in! That's not exactly the right time for having a conversation, Prowl!"

_(I'm afraid it has to be… Are some of you people available for battle? We have a red alert outside!)_

Ratchet sighed and then scanned once again the place.

"Here is the situation. Skywarp's repairing is complete and he's available. I'm working on Astrotrain and given the mess his vocal processor is, I'll have a good couple of hours of work. Don't count on both of us. Same for Hook and Wheeljack; they are working on Blitzwing. I need Red Alert as well."

_(With all due respect, Ratchet, I have to insist on-)_

"With all due respect, Prowl, I am the Medical Officer here and when I say that somebody is not fit for battle, or that I need him to assist me, I don't appreciate to be contradicted!"

The CMO was to add "Listen, I had an awful day, and I'm not disposed to receive orders from anybody, even if he's higher ranked than me!" but the answer of Prowl confirmed that he had been dry enough to wash away any desire to insist.

_(Fair enough, Ratchet.. Send Skywarp then. Scourge will be waiting for him at the departure ramp 35. It's close to the repair bay. However, according to the evolution of the crisis, I might insist again. Prowl out!)_

* * *

**Silverbot's quarter**

Silverbot was typing the briefing about the upcoming missions of his team when his com link surged to life. He instantly knew something was wrong.

_(Prowl in. Silverbot acknowledge!)_

"What's happening?"

_(Super Tanker spotted at our door, on the Sumida side. I'm gathering troops to get rid of it, and specifically, flyers that can merge into Superion!)_

If Silverbot had been a conceited Transformer, he would have grinned at the compliment. But he was a thoughtful robot, experienced enough to know very well what a Super Tanker could do to Superion. He and his team had the honor to taste the power of this deadly war machine the first time it showed up on the war and had ended up in spare parts. The whole month they spent on Ratchet's berth had been the most depressive of his existence.

"I am always ready to help against that kind of problem, but-"

_(Cyclonus is on his way. He will coordinate the raid with you. Meet him at platform 45 with your team.)_

Silverbot was somehow reassured by the news. Cyclonus was an experienced Air Commander and would take care of the complete strategy. He and the other Aerialbot would have just to deal with the shots of the monster and the fear of being shot down again.

"Copy that. We'll be there in less than half an hour."

With this answer, he cut the COM link with Prowl and reached Slingshot.

"Sling… I have a bad news… You're day off is canceled!"

* * *

**High-Security level, Interrogation Chamber**

"Are you sure of that! Prowl… A hostile of this size cannot go out the river without being detected at least an hour before. And anyway… It cannot just go out of this river!"

_(It did, Prime, it did! I've seen the records of Sideswipe. It just came out the river… There must be a trick … We might have to fear what this monster is going to do!)_

"I know, but we are experiencing a kind of crisis situation here…"

_(Prime, I really need warriors to stop this thing. I couldn't gather enough of them for now!)_

"Optimus, I think Prowl is right. The most critical problem to solve is to eradicate the Super Tanker from the vicinity of the base. We have to go," interjected Shockwave. "We have to stop it, now!"

Optimus Prime looked at his counterpart, almost surprised by his words and the emergency filled in his voice.

"I agree, but one of us must stay here to make sure that-"

"That we won't slain each other?" snorted Galvatron, throwing a quick glance at Megatron, "Who cares?" His red optics set on Optimus Prime as if he wanted to burn a hole in his head. "You can go, all of you. We're adult enough to handle this by ourselves!" he rasped.

Optimus Prime didn't flinch at all, his optics flaring with the same intensity as Galvatron's. So did Megatron, glaring at his brother.

"We're leaving Optimus. I suggest you do the same," announced Shockwave, beckoning to Soundwave to follow him. The navy blue flyer complied, relieved to leave the heavy atmosphere of the Interrogation Chamber. Grimlock didn't wait for the invitation of Shockwave to move away and opened his com-link.

"Me Grimlock to all Dinobots! Go immediately to Platform 45!" he boomed.

Once they exited, the place came back to silence.

"Fine… Rodimus, you can deactivate the shackles. They don't need it anymore," finally stated Optimus Prime.

"Optimus! But-" complained his lieutenant.

"Rodimus, please no discussion. You open their shackles and we go!"

The tone was not gentle and rather impatient. That was not usual to Optimus Prime, and Rodimus understood that it was not the time to test his patience. He stepped on Megatron's direction, the shackle's key in his hands.

O

Megatron pet his wrist where the shackle had left few dents on the metal.

_'Note to myself; do not try to free yourself when you are handcuffed, it hurts… and it doesn't work!'_ he reflected while looking at Starscream. The flyer was shaking, huddled up in his chair and did not even react when Optimus' lieutenant deactivated his restraints.

_'Primus! What put you in this sorry condition?'_ he wondered, almost surprise by the tingle he felt on his spark.

Was it concern for his disloyal former Air Commander? Or this old feeling he had tried to forget years ago? He shifted his attention to his brother and felt somehow shocked that Galvatron had almost the same reaction as him to pet his wrist. Was it surprising? They were twin brothers after all.

"Now, we leave you. Do whatever you want… My only wish is that you keep this entire base out of your private problems!" warned Optimus Prime.

With those last words, he left in haste the Chamber. Rodimus Prime covered with an anxious look the three robots and then left as well, letting out a last sigh.

The door shut and silence fell again on the room.

"So-" mused Megatron.

"So-?" Galvatron replied, his voice strangely soft.

"You really know… nothing? You've never tried to kill me?"

The purple warlord smirked then gazed at his brother. "I don't understand a word about this story of disc. I don't understand how it started, why you accused me to try and kill you… If I shot you and became your enemy, it's because I've seen you once - or somebody looking like you - trying to fry my spark with his fusion cannon! " Galvatron rasped. "Call me crazy… Well… Maybe, I've become crazy, but-"

"But?"

The two brother's gaze pierced each other.

"I want to know who had caused all this mess!" groaned Galvatron, his hand rising to point at the trembling Seeker, "And I'm sure you're eager to find out who is doing that to him!" he added with assurance.

* * *

**Medical repair bay #32**

_(Shrapnel, do you copy?)_

The Insecticon showed his irritation by a slight twitch of his antennas. It was the third time Prowl was trying to open the com'link, and he had to be very careful that the tactician didn't succeed. His gaze fell on his comrades, still in stasis, and his optics glittered with excitement. _'Soon, they'll be there, with me…'_

Red Alert, aware of his decreasing concentration, stepped back in order to get closer to the door. Fortunately for Shrapnel, the foot of the bot hit a box behind him, reminding the Insecticon that his forced "assistant" was trying to make himself scarce. He lifted his riffle menacingly.

"You're going nowhere until it's finished… finished!"

"Listen. I don't know what you have in mind, but what's you're doing is pointless. We were about to reactivate them tomorrow!" pointed out the red Transformer, holding up his hands in defeat.

"I've got my reasons… reasons. Now… Now-"

_(Shrapnel! Report immediately, or I try and locate your position! I'll swear you'll regret it!)_

Now, he had to reply; Prowl was getting impatient. That was not the nature of the tactician, but when he was getting on this way, he could be very relentless. He had to do something before Prowl really tried to find what he was doing. The Insecticon walked to his captive and set the barrel against is forehead, forcing him to silence.

"Shrapnel in… In," he replied, activating his COM'link.

_(What the pit were you doing?! I've tried to reach you five or six times!)_

"I was on a non-covered area… area… I'm still there… there!" the Insecticon replied , searching frantically in his CPU what he could say to cover his presence in the Repair Bay.

_(What are you doing over there? We have a Super Tanker at our door. I need you outside with the others!)_

_Super Tanker!_ The two words made the Insect like robot grin in victory; he had found his alibi.

"I've found spy drones, and followed them…Them. Maybe, they're linked to the attack… attack!"

To his great pleasure, the tactician was not too long to react and eat the whole story.

_(Spy drones? Crap! I've told already to Optimus and Shockwave that they were there! Okay, keep following them! Report me every thirty minute!)_

The com-link shut, leaving Shrapnel with a big grin on his face.

"Are you proud of you?" interjected Red Alert, "In a way, you're betraying all of us!"

The Insecticon gazed at the Transformer and then at the two metallic bodies lying down on the repair berth.

"All of you, but two…"

* * *

**On the banks of the Sumida river**

Each step of the gigantic machine was shaking the ground and made the remains of their shelter collapse slowly. Nerte was on her knees, breathless, while Rumble watched with terror the walking fortress coming closer and closer to them at its low pace. It was just like he saw the Angel of deactivation chasing him.

"Why do they send that? Why… We're only two… We're small, inoffensive!" he mumbled, shaking his head in pure denial. He expected a word of hope coming from the human, but it seemed she had thrown away any positive thoughts. "Nerte!" he called her.

An idea was emerged in his CPU clear as crystal and his optics flashed under the realization. He limped to his unfortunate comrade and grabbed her wrists, pulling harshly.

"Hey! It's not us this thing is after," he cawed, "It's after YOU!"

The stupefaction he read on the woman's face when she looked up convinced Rumble that he had it the right spot.

"It's you… It's you! They're after you! Who are you? By Primus and all the pit of Cybertron , who are you!?" he shrieked, shaking her in pure frenzy. The woman chocked an afraid "Stop it!" but while the robot was still shaking her, she managed to swing her legs and hit his feet, sending him sprawling on the ground.

Rumble shook his head and seemed to blink. He started a little when Nerte shot him a resentful glare.

"I am… I've been… I've been their prisoner for two years," she breathed, "I escaped… Made my way up to here to tell your friends what's happening in their bases."

Rumble gapped at the women; he hadn't expected that kind of confession. .

The gaze of the woman set on the dark shape; the walking fortress was now on the middle of the river. One of his feet sank in the water, splashing cum all around in a terrible sound of gears in action. Once again, the ground shook under the earthquake.

"I've seen everything… What they do with human prisoners… With Transformers prisoners… It's why they went to kill me."

Outside the repair bay 32

"Damned Medic!" cursed Skywarp, kicking a piece of metal, "I'm convalescent, and he just threw me out the repair bay!"

The Seeker clenched his fists in despair. Although he rejoiced at the idea of being again on a battlefield, he perfectly felt that the medic had hidden some important information. Like the details of the battle itself. The only good point was that Shrapnel had vanished somewhere. _Where on the pit the insect Transformer had gone?_ Skywarp went thoughtful some nanoclicks and then concluded that the absence of Shrapnel didn't bug him at all.

"Where this slagging departure ramp 35 is?" he groused.

Five minutes later, he found a dark gray door with the number 35 on the top of its frame. The two panels opened on a large ramp, at the edge of which a tall robot was standing, arms crossed on his chest. _'Certainly the one I'm supposed to meet?'_ wondered Skywarp.

"It took time for you to come!" said a deep voice, while the two arms felt on the side of the flyer's body.

Skywarp was to apologize when he made out the face of his interlocutor and almost grimaced of disgust. The robot was far less angular than he was, but his features reminded strikingly those of a male squishy.

"What are you looking at, Seeker?"

"Nothing… I'm here now… We can go!" Skywarp replied, suddenly un-at-ease.

The strange flyer glared at him malevolently and then smirked.

"Just a point, Skywarp. I'm giving the orders here, copy?" he said, stepping just in front of Skywarp.

Considering that he was a good head taller, Skywarp contemplated stepping back, but that would have meant showing somehow his growing tension. He managed to glare viciously back, cursing inwardly his best "Slag you!" at the attention of this strange looking Transformer.

"Yes, okay… I let you tell me where and when we go," he admitted, "By the way, what's your name?"

The flyer looked at him from head to toes, and then set his optics on Skywarp's.

"Scourge… The name is Scourge," he replied with disdain, "Now, stop babbling and follow me. I don't want to be late for the beginning of the raid!"

Scourge jumped into the air and transformed into a strange spaceship; as far as he could say, Skywarp didn't find any resemblance to the Cybertronian flyer's usual shape. Was it an old configuration?

"What are you waiting for?" called Scourge.

"Uh… Yeah."

Skywarp jumped into the air and transformed in his usual F-15 mode, wondering in what kind of problem he had once again stumbled into.

**To be continued… **

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/7/2)


	14. Ch 14: Reunion of fire Aerial Storm

**Chapter 14: Reunion of fire (1)**

**In the high-security level of the base 0025**

"I'm… I'm fine," breathed Starscream, trying to push away the inquisitive hand, to no avail.

The mix of emotions and physical pain had taken a heavy toll on him, and he was barely conscious. Megatron grabbed his wrist and flung open the cover of the cavity sheltering the anti-virus. The silver robot checked carefully the flask, and once he was sure it was not broken, closed the cover.

"I… I told you… I'm fine," protested the Seeker, withdrawing his hand back to his chest.

Megatron frowned at him; Starscream looked just miserable as he tried to curl up in his seat under the red gaze.

"No, you're not fine. What happened to you? What put you in such sorry condition?"

The flyer shivered. "Grimlock… I guess," he whispered.

"You're not telling the truth, Starscream," Megatron growled. _'And I know so well when you lie!'_ he added to himself.

"The disc…"

"What?" asked Megatron, slightly alarmed by the spasms shaking his lieutenant.

"The disc. I went to… the repair bay. I asked Ratchet to look at it. And then… I don't know why… I became sick and… lost focus. I blacked out-"

"And?"

"When I woke up… The medic told me… I was nervously exhausted… because on what showed the disc. He asked me to go back to my quarters… to keep the disc with me. Because it's an important evidence." Starscream made a break in his explanations, looking confused and obviously searching the flow of his ideas. "The evidence that you, and… me… We have been set up by somebody," he breathed, exhausted.

"Mwahah! Autobots' lies!" Galvatron cackled so loud that Megatron glared at him.

His voice wasn't soft anymore and was back to his usual raspy tone, enhanced by an insane laugh. Nothing to be surprised of; Galvatron had always suffered from an unstable temper, leading him to change from calm to complete excitement if not fury in few seconds. Their quarrels had raised this flaw to its stake.

"What?"

"Autobots' lies. If that disc was only an evidence, this crafty fox of Ratchet would have locked it in a safe place," Galvatron purred.

"In other words?" asked impatiently Megatron.

Galvatron crooked a nasty smile.

"Oh! Don't tell me that the "Mighty Megatron" doesn't get the point," he scoffed. "There is something on the disc which affects your lieutenant when it's removed".

O

Galvatron's grin grew wider when the optics of Megatron flashed with anger. Showing his superiority to the one who was so used to call him "insane" was just blissful. This was a way to forget the weakness he had displayed few minutes before by confessing he had never wished the deactivation of his elder brother.

"I can't believe you!" retorted Megatron. "It's just a new trick of yours to throw confusion and save your face!"

"Believe it or not… That's your problem, not mine!" Galvatron replied, shrugging his shoulders. The purple warlord's face changed suddenly from a sardonic expression to the true representation of authority, and he stepped forward, glaring at the two other 'Cons. "Now, we have lost enough time here… Pick him up and let's move out!" he commanded.

Megatron stood slowly, coming to face his brother with equal arrogance. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.

"Giving you an order, uh?"

The optics of Megatron burned red like the lava of a smelting pit. "Giving an order, to me? How dare you speak to me like that!" he snarled, ready to leap at his brother.

Galvatron displayed a perfect calm and self-control, his unnerving smile still gracing his crackled faceplate.

"I see that Optimus Prime and Shockwave didn't have the gut to tell you everything," he giggled, "You have no place yet in the Cybertronian army, because after all the incidents you and your second in command caused, they strongly hesitate in giving you a position. Besides, I'm one of the Base Commanders," Galvatron stated with delight. He stepped forward and pointed a finger to Megatron's chest. "Do I need to specify who has to follow who, or your CPU will be able to process the information by itself?"

Needless to say that Galvatron's was savoring each second of this and almost groaned of satisfaction when he saw the hatred swirling in the older mech's optics. The most enjoyable thing was that Megatron kept unmoving, frozen certainly by the realization he was nothing in this base.

'_Mwaaah! Checkmate, brother… That's only the beginning!'_ Galvatron relished.

O

Megatron was boiling with rage. Everything in him, processors, circuits, machinery, was melting in a pool of revolt and anger. Somewhere deep in his spark, he knew that Galvatron was right. Since his revival, Optimus Prime or Shockwave had never told him what would be his position or task within this new army. Worst than everything, he hadn't tried to ask.

"I don't believe a single word of all this babbling," he replied, "But I agree to listen to you. Where are you bringing us?"

Galvatron grinned wickedly - which just made Megatron lose a little more self-control – and then withdrew his hand.

"Where do I plan to take you?" he said, "To the repair bay… Moron!"

Megatron winced slightly under the surprise. The tension was so high between the two brothers that Megatron expected Galvatron to jump at his throat and try to kill him at any time, not to bring him in a repair bay for repairing.

"Where do you think we're going? On a visit of the base? You fool! I don't know if you enjoy being with your face plate broken and half your cerebro-circuits exposed, watching your Seeker on the way to stasis lock, but me, I don't!" Galvatron yelled. Gesturing theatrically, he walked away, spitting a last "And he calls me insane, Mwaaah!" before exiting in the corridor.

"Moron yourself!" Megatron hissed with greeted teeth.

However, his "moronic brother" was right; he needed repair, and above all, Starscream needed medical attentions and recharge. His energy levels were alarmingly low. Megatron leaned over the Seeker, one of his hands sliding on the nape of the dark neck, forcing the flyer to look up at him.

"Starscream, can you stand up and walk?" he asked, cursing the softness in his voice. It brought him back to this loathed day when he had shown the same attentions to Starscream, and had his feelings denied.

"Of course… I can…walk…"

The former Air Commander stood up at the price of evident efforts but soon lost his balance. Megatron caught his upper arm and avoided him to fall backward.

"Well, it looks like you can't!"

"No, I- I can-"

"Keep your strength to put one foot in front of the other, and I deal with the rest!" retorted Megatron.

Despite the weak protest of Starscream, he managed to get a hold on the flyer's depleted body, supporting him so that he doesn't fall to his knees. Starscream threw him an ashamed glance but didn't try to rebel. That would have been beyond his strength.

O

As Megatron expected, Galvatron was waiting outside, leaning against the wall with a smug expression.

"What took you that long!" he screeched.

"Shut up, Galvatron… Show me the way!" Megatron replied with annoyance.

The purple Transformer glared back at his brother and then at the moribund Seeker.

"Fine… You'll get a reprimand for speaking like this to me. With all you've said since you attacked me, I can tell you I have a long list of provocations to report. I will have you locked in a jail and sentenced to a Martial Court!" Galvatron declaimed and grinned evilly.

Megatron replied with the same devilish look.

"Martial Court, Galvatron? Mwaaaah!" he mocked, exaggerating the laugh, "Don't you forget I'm not yet incorporated in this army? You've just spilled this fact in my face!"

The features of Galvatron betrayed his irritation; Megatron had hit the nail in the head, and it made him obviously close to blow a fuse.

"Don't worry; I have tons of torture to make you regret being reactivated!"

"Fine… Make my day. Or, show me the way to this slagging repair bay!" Megatron hissed.

"Gnah! Shut up, you idiot! I'm giving orders here!" Galvatron growled back.

Megatron watched with an equal bad mood his brother turned his back on him, pointing at a direction in the corridor. He couldn't help considering that whether Galvatron was his brother, or his gladiatorial teammate, or his worst enemy, he would always be a bastard… So similar to himself.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Platform 45**

The few minutes of flight between the two platforms were the most boring that Skywarp could recollect. Unable to hold his vocal processor quiet, he had tried to ask few questions about the upcoming battle and was rewarded by a cold "Silence!" from Scourge. Sure, this one was not a funny bot, and it was with great relief that Skywarp made out the destination and a familiar blue jet that was frantically pacing on the tarmac.

'_Yeah, Cracker, I don't like this situation neither!'_ he thought, pushing on his thrusters to land quicker.

_(What do you think you're doing, Seeker?)_

The voice of Scourge scratched Skywarp's audio receptors through the COM'Link. "Squishy face" seemed irritated.

_(Well? Landing?)_ Skywarp didn't understand the point of the question. At this altitude and according to the direction they were heading to, wasn't that obvious?

_(I AM landing first, copy?)_

'_Hey, the freak is touchy about hierarchy, isn't he? I believed it was Megatron and Starscream's privilege…'_ he mused.

He didn't bother that long about that point; arrived at the satisfied position, he transformed and landed on his feet just behind his new and self-proclaimed leader. Ignoring Scourge, he strode along to Thundercracker, who was now standing, arms crossed on his chest, lurking in the direction of a tall purple mech.

"Hey, Cracker… Already here!" he gurgled, giving a hug to his wing mate, "Who's the petro rabbit?" he asked, grinning in the direction of the same tall purple Transformer. The robot's helmet was looking like the ears of the earthling animal.

Thundercracker beckoned to him to keep silent, unfortunately not before the so-called Transformer turned around and yelled after him.

"Hold your glossa, soldier, or I have you arrested for contempt of officer!"

'_Oh! Slag!'_ was the first thought that emerged on Skywarp's brain module, and he secretly prayed that the robot got busy with somebody else. Fortunately for him, the warrior came back to his discussion with the Aerialbots and one of the Dinobots. Skyfire and Octane were also listening with great attention.

"Ouch! Who is he?" finally asked Skywarp in a whisper. "He's not a funny bot."

"A high officer. The name is Cyclonus," Thundercracker replied on the same low voice. "And no, he's not a funny bot."

O

"Here's the plan, Silverbot. We keep busy the Super Tanker by attacking him in successive waves. I will go first, with Thundercracker and Skywarp. Then, second wave with Scourge, Octane and Skyfire, and third, Swoop, with Dirge and Soundwave. Meanwhile, Shockwave and Optimus Prime will conduct an air bombing from the banks of the river. All of this should keep him busy on one flank, opening you a window on the other flank. You'll have to be quick, precise, and merciless!"

Cyclonus stopped his explanations and stared at Silverbot. His smirk showed he was confident with his plan.

"I see… That should be enough for Superion to squash the intruder into piles of metal. When do we start the raid?" asked the Aerialbot's leader.

"As soon as we are all gathered and that Shockwave gives me the green light."

The purple Transformer stared at the main gate where two shapes had appeared; Dirge and Soundwave were running on the direction of the gathering.

"That shouldn't be long now," Cyclonus added, activating his COM'Link. "Shockwave, Cyclonus here. We're all gathered now."

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks**

"Shockwave in. We're in position on the banks of the river," the cannon Transformer replied, looking at the troops in station around him. Optimus Prime was few meters away, giving his last orders to Grimlock and Rodimus Prime.

Twelve movable cannons were placed along the platform, each of them targeting the black form that had almost reached the edge of the other side of the river. The four other Dinobots were checking their weapons, imitated by Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Bluestreak. Other Autobots that he couldn't exactly remember the names were busy with the same tasks. Shockwave had to admit that the idea of dispatching such cannons all around the base was valuable, and that Prowl was worthy of his reputation of excellent tactician for that. Thanks to this scheme, they could mobilize defenses and strike back very quickly.

_(I'm waiting for the green light.)_ Cyclonus informed of his calm voice.

"Hold on." Shockwave walked silently to Optimus Prime, who was now checking his laser riffle. "Optimus, Cyclonus' team is ready. He's waiting for the green light."

The tall red leader unlocked the safety catch of his gun of a precise gesture.

"And so we are here," he declared, his blue optics shining with determination. "The raid will start in 300 seconds!"

"Cyclonus, you've heard him?" inquired Shockwave through the COM' link. "Start in 300 seconds."

_(I was eager to hear this order!)_

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Platform 45**

Waiting can be extremely damageable for the neural net of Transformers, especially when this occurs before a battle against a strong enemy. Some of the mechs would check their battle computer in the search of system bugs to patch. Some others would assess the power level of their weapons and decide which one to use according to the battle configuration. All would ask themselves if this fight would be the last of their existence.

This short period of silence – that had however seemed an eternity – ended when Cyclonus abandoned his still composure, and stepped at the edge of the platform, beckoning to Thundercracker and Skywarp to do the same.

"Let's start the wild thing now!" declared Cyclonus, jumping mid- air and transforming into his spaceship alt form. Skywarp and Thundercracker stared at him with an evident surprise; the Air Commander's alt mode was an angular-shaped shuttle of a size matching with Skyfire's shuttle mode. No doubt that he could shrink or expand his size, like Astrotrain was also able to do, when shifting between robot and spacecraft mode.

"What are you gaping at? Take air at once and transform!" he shrieked at the two Seekers.

"At… At your command!" Skywarp replied, suiting the action to the word, soon followed by Thundercracker.

"Remember, you two." Cyclonus switched to the Com'link as his voice was covered by the whizzing of his engines. _(Our first goal is to have the Tanker shift to the right, so that we get the right flank parallel to the bank. Otherwise, the ground squadron won't be able to shoot it down efficiently!)_ he warned.

_(Copy that!)_

_(Other things we should know?)_ asked Thundercracker.

Cyclonus gave out a nervous chuckle that didn't put at ease the two jets.

_(Yes. Tell yourself that you have chances to never return!)_

_O_

As much as they were getting closer, Skywarp and Thundercracker understood what Cyclonus meant. The black Tanker was armed to the teeth with four movable air cannons on his back and a battery of smaller ones in his flanks, set on a series of five lines. The two Seekers briefly pondered that they had signed for a suicide mission when a first salve of glittering projectiles rained around them.

_(Seekers, swoop down! Swoop down!)_ Cyclonus shrieked.

Skywarp and Thundercracker, whose battle computers were racing even faster than their after-burners enabled them to fly, obeyed without a word, swooping down as if they wanted to crash on the river. They fired blindly, even not bothering to check if their lasers and bombs caused damages. Their beacons floodlighted the rear side of the tanker, its forefeet and finally signaled the presence of the dark water. They both pushed on their thrusters in a roar of engines and turbines, rounding a perfect U just in front of the large nose of the alien war machine, before regaining altitude. Cyclonus was already flying higher in the sky.

_(Yippee!)_ Skywarp shrieked, completely overcharged with excitement and speed. _(Back at the good old time!)_

_(Hey! Calm down Warp! We gonna collide if you don't stop giggling!) _protested Thundercracker.

_(Shut up you two! We're not done yet! Prepare for the second wave!)_ Cyclonus barked, lowering his altitude in order to be on the lead position of their formation.

_(Yes! Sorry…)_

The excitement of Skywarp fell down as he watched the next formation, composed of Scourge, Skyfire and Octane, firing powerfully at the rear side of the Tanker. The strategy was starting to be fruitful; the Tanker had stopped its advance and was now turning around to better face its aggressors, forming a beautiful 45 degree-angle with the bank of the river. Not that all the shots hit their target because of the protection field, but it was just a question of some more aerial attacks. Soon, it would be fully parallel with the bank, position that Optimus Prime and Shockwave were waiting with their cannons.

_(I wonder if Soundwave is going to make it,)_ said warily Thundercracker, _(He has never flied in jet mode before… He-)_

_(He has to prove himself. Otherwise, he has to do nothing in our ranks!)_ cut Cyclonus, _(Now, silence! Concentrate yourself on the next wave!)_

The two jets nodded, but couldn't help to follow on their radar how Soundwave would deal with this new experience. They somehow relaxed when they saw that Swoop and Dirge were flying above him, shielding him from eventual fires.

O

_(Soundwave, listen carefully to me. Fire at the lower part of its forefeet and then pull out as quick as you can. We'll deal with the rest!)_

A crackling answered the warning of Dirge, leading him to worry about this new recruit.

_(Soundwave?)_

_(At your command!)_

_(Good… Now, let's go!)_

Dirge forced himself to put some self-insurance in his vocal processor; he hated being in that kind of formation and above all, he disliked being the leader. His characteristically uncertainty in battle had never left him, even if he had been leading two squadrons of earthling jets for two years. His natural pessimism forced him to constantly consider the worst scenarios, even if the human pilots had a fair experience on aerial fights. Now that he had on his tail a Transformer who had never flown on jet mode, his emotional system was running dangerously haywire. Primus, he would have done everything for not being here!

He knew very well that nobody would understand – and certainly not forgive – that he'd pushed his thrusters on the opposite direction to go and hide in the depths of the base. Struggling with his doubts, Dirge swooped down on the Super Tanker and fired one of his air –air missile, then a volley of laser shots. Beginning at the level of the rear feet, his raid took five or six cannons on the flank of the machine and blew away several panels of the forefeet. The success of his shot gave him some self-insurance, a feeling reinforced by the vision of Swoop worsening the damages with a goodly amount of fire and number of laser shots.

'_Now, it's Soundwave's turn to fire,'_ Dirge reflected, somehow reassured by the damages inflicted to the enemy walking fortress; that would be less shots to dove for the inexperienced jet.

To his surprise, Soundwave didn't fire a single laser beam or bomb and flied underneath the belly of the machine, heading straight to the other side of the river.

_(Soundwave, what are you doing?)_ he barked, surprised by such a behavior. This was a deliberate disobedience to the fighting plan!

Dirge was tempted for some seconds to turn his boosters on the direction of the imprudent mech, but he kept the course suggested by his battle computer. The success of this mission partially depended on him.

O

Soundwave knew very well that most of the members involved in this attack should be looking at him with bewilderment if not dismay. He was blatantly disobeying the orders. He had a good reason for that; he had picked up the energy signature of Rumble, just there, somewhere along the river.

Arrived at the left bank, he transformed and landed awkwardly on his feet, almost stumbling on the ground. It wasn't surprising for him; he had always been used to fly on robot mode and to transform without being in movement in the space. The way he was used to stretch his legs when he was a cassette deck had nothing to do with the transformation of a jet, used to speed and rough decelerations. It would take time to him to learn how to land with the same grace as Starscream and the other Seekers.

He quickly gathered himself and overcame the confusion created by his crash like landing. Increasing the accuracy of his radar, he picked up a very clear signal, coming from a radius of 100 meters around him.

"Rumble!" he called, "It's Soundwave. Give me your position!"

He set his audio receptors at maximum efficiency but only heard the deafening bangs of new explosions from the river. Cyclonus, Thundercracker and Skywarp were paying a new round to the Tanker.

"Rumble!" he called once again.

"Here! Soundwave! Here!"

The spark of the navy blue flyer tingled in his chest as he identified the source of the vocal signals. He ran to a ruined building and ripped out a concrete stone. To his greatest joy, he excavated the purple robotic body, crawling on the ground, trying to protect his vitals from the fall of metal or stones.

"Rumble!"

"Help us. Get us out of here!" begged the small robot, getting on his feet.

Soundwave realized that he was not alone, carrying close to him something looking like a flesh creature. He was forced to react when an explosion belched out pieces of stone, metal and any other buildings' parts. The alien war machine had obviously realized that one of his enemies had infiltrated the other side of the river and was firing at him. Soundwave was a very clear target on this background of destroyed buildings, with one of his beacons lighting his surroundings.

"No time to explain… Come!" he shouted.

He gathered in his large palm the two small bodies and placed them in his cockpit. A new explosion dug a crater only few meters from him and screwed his balance during his transformation mid-air. Pushing on his thrusters, he however managed to tear himself off the ground and left the bank.

He didn't realize that a missile had left the flank of the metal beast, aiming straight at him.

O

"Primus! This fool managed to get a heat-triggered missile on his tail!" shrieked Optimus Prime, watching the scene, "Sideswipe! Sunstreaker! Aim at the missile! Now!"

"No Optimus, it's too late!" Shockwave objected, beckoning the two Lamborghinis not to follow the order. "Look, the Aerialbots are approaching the Tanker from the North. We have to sustain a heavy fire if we want Superion to succeed!"

Shockwave didn't even wait for the agreement of his fellow Base Commander to open his COM'link and give another order.

"Aerial fleet! Do not change your position and be prepared to attack the Tanker all together within 20 astro-seconds. I repeat; lock on your target!"

O

_(Hey! You plan to let Soundwave get shot by this missile!)_

The vocal frequency of Thundercracker transcribed perfectly all the indignation that he could feel in his park. Skywarp was not surprised by his reaction and could imagine perfectly what would come next. Thundercracker was not very found of Soundwave, but he was one of the rare Decepticon with a kind of "morality" solidly embedded in his core. He wouldn't accept to let a comrade fall on the battlefield without trying to reverse this cruel fate. That was somehow an "Autobot-like way of thinking" but sometime it was nice to know that in the Decepticon ranks, somebody would never leave you behind on the battlefield.

For sure, Cyclonus was a different type of Decepticon.

_(He put himself in this mess, let him get out of it by himself! Now, stop ranting and be ready to attack!)_ The purple shuttle commanded.

_(Out of question!)_

Skywarp couldn't see the maneuver that Thundercracker performed but imagined it easily. The blue jet flipped on himself, half-transforming to slow down his speed and prevent his wing to be damaged by the deceleration. Then igniting his thrusters, he came back to his full jet mode and flied in the other direction.

Skywarp kept silent but felt the desire to do the same growing and growing in his spark to an unbearable point. He just needed a trigger to pull out and leave this mad mission and do something meaningful.

_(I warn you Skywarp! Do the same, and I'll personally put you in a jail for mutiny!)_

That was the trigger! Skywarp just felt like sending his bombs against this arrogant Air Commander who deserved the first rank of bastard abandoning his men on the field. He was a serious competitor for Starscream on that point.

_(You know where you can put your orders, Cyclonus? On your after-burners!)_

O

_(Arrogant idiot! I'm going to-)_

Skywarp was not on his tail anymore; the purple jet had already warped out of the area. Cyclonus' radars confirmed him that the Seeker was behind his rebellious comrade, and that they were conversing actively through their com'link.

'_I'm going to crash alone against the tanker,'_ he completed, realizing he was going to raid the monster alone. However, there was no question to turn his thrusters to the enemy; he was Cyclonus, the fierce and fearless warrior. Galvatron had modeled him such and wouldn't forgive him the weakness of running away from deactivation on battle.

"I will make you proud, My Lord," he muttered to himself, increasing the speed by pushing on his engines. He locked all his weapons on his target, pushing aside the idea that he wouldn't be able to take the tanker alone or maybe pulling out on time.

_(Cyclonus,! Slow down! We're right behind you!) _

The voice of Scourge! It means he was not alone… Scanning his surroundings, he recognized the energy signatures of Skyfire, Octane, and a little behind, Dirge and Swoop.

_(No, wrong, Scourge! Push on your thrusters and come behind me. We have to raid all together… The Aerialbots are only minutes away to attack the other flank!)_

He was right: his radars had located five energy signatures heading to the same target, from the other side of the Tanker.

* * *

**On the stratosphere, at the vertical of the Base 25**

Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia

"A set up. They had been set up by somebody…"

Sat on his command chair, Greeboo was deep on his thought, wondering how he could use this information reported by his spies. He had the evidence that a deep antagonism had separated the two Decepticon brothers for a long time and by the same, had split the Decepticon army. That was the kind of information that left him thoughtful and made him dream. If such antagonism could be revived, and according to the mess that Megatron and Galvatron were obviously able to bring, he could count on the collapse of the Cybertronian pact very quickly.

If only he knew who had set up the two…

"Commander! Commander Greebo!" his third in command yelped.

Greebo turned his reptilian face toward him, glaring hatefully with his insect eyes.

"How dare you interrupt me during my brain-storming?"

"Sorry, my Commander," the smaller alien apologized, "but the Tanker prototype AT-00569 is currently under enemy fire! I request the intervention of a Stalker battalion in a recovery mission, sir!"

Now, that was unexpected information, but not among the best. The compound eyes of Greebo narrowed, while the Commander stood up and walked slowly to his third in command, glaring at him with a dangerous expression on his face.

"What… the newest and… most powerful… weapon of the Empire is doing on the battlefield while it should be on the test facilities?" he shrieked.

In front of him, the shape of the high officer seemed to shrink at each word.

"I thought… I mean… we spotted the fugitive 256 on the ruins of the city and tried to intercept her, but she put some resistance. I thought that we could test the new Tanker to solve this problem."

"You thought?!... You… Thought?"

The voice of Greebo reached a new threatening high-pitch as he stretched his silhouette over his subordinate and grabbed his throat, shaking him up and down.

"Idiot! You unveiled our latest weapon to our enemies while it is not ready and tested! Of course! Bring it to the base immediately! Send Stalkers to protect its retreat!" he yelled and then setting his face closer to his subordinate, "Bring it functioning! Otherwise, some heads might roll on this floor!" he threatened.

"Yes sir!"

The officer bolted out of the command room and didn't wish to hear more threats of that sort.

"I am surrounded by morons!" Greebo sighed.

* * *

**Base 0025, Medical Repair Bay # 32**

"Stop what you're doing! I need immediate repairs!"

It's with that pompous and self-insured command that Galvatron made his entry in the repair bay. He walked straight to the CMO, straightening his back in order to look even taller than he was. As far as Megatron could see, Ratchet was welding some stomach parts on Blitzwing body. In a flash of memory, he saw himself horrendously kicking the triple changer in this area, making him spit energon and sending him roll away in a rain of spare parts. Not that he felt sorry about that; Blitzwing had just tried to stand on his way.

"Ratchet, I gave you an order!"

The voice of Galvatron grew angrier and angrier before the wall of silence and indifference of Ratchet.

"Wait your turn!" spat the medic, not leaving the delicate work he was doing on an abdominal panel.

Beside him, Hook, who was repairing some inner circuits on the torso, underlined an amused smile.

"I will bring you before a Martial Court for that kind of answer, medic!"

All the mechs present here - including Blietzwing on his repair berth – laughed mockingly. Astrotrain kept silent, certainly because his throat was open and under repairing. Finally, Ratchet interrupted his work on Blietzwing and rose to his full height. He was far away matching the size of Galvatron but looked more menacing than usual with his dark blue optics burning with annoyance and irritation.

"Martial Court… You only ever talk about that, Galvatron!" he spat on a vibrant voice, "You threatened me so many times that I'm surprised that I've kept my position!"

Galvatron growled a "Gnaah!!" of annoyance, first step to a potential outburst. Ratchet displayed no fear and even stepped forward.

"The two of them are more damaged than you are. I guess I don't need to remind you how and by who they finished in this sorry state," Ratchet continued, "As a medic, I have to consider the medical priorities and do my best for my patients. And-"

"Consider the top medical priorities and do your best for your patients, you said?" Megatron exclaimed, carrying Starscream in his arms. Not that he was willing to help Galvatron in his quarrel with the Medic but there was something in the words of the C.M.O. that raised some irritation in him. "Then, you can explain why the hell in Primus you let Starscream go out of the repair bay, low in energy, after he had lost consciousness in front of you. He's not a priority or your medical database is deficient?" he hissed.

The CMO frowned at him, visibly as aggravated as he was.

"The little brat… Sorry, I mean… Starscream… He fooled us. He pretended to be asleep and escaped the repair bay while we were busy with other emergencies. It was in order to find you in the base!" he replied.

"Oh, so sweet from the little bird… Mwaaahah!" Galvatron cackled, throwing a weird look to his elder brother.

He smirked when he saw the infuriated glare of Megatron and read in his optics a silent "shut up!". Teasing his brother in order to drive him mad was definitely the kind of sport that he liked to practice.

"What about the disc?" inquired Megatron.

The expression of the CMO fell at this subject.

"You can have him recharged on the berth over there. Make sure he won't leave it this time," he replied, showing the long metallic shape some twenty meters away.

"That's not what I asked, Medic!" Megatron hissed. His hand snapped around the wrist of Ratchet to prevent him to come back to his work. "Beware, I want answers!"

"Not now, Megatron… There is an on going raid outside, and it won't end up without injuries on our side. We have to carry on the repairs here as quickly as possible in order to be ready to receive the wounded Transformers," the medic replied, freeing his hands. He looked carefully at the two brothers, then came back to Hook's side and continued his patch job.

Galvatron was waiting for some vivid complaints – or rather to say, outbursts – from Megatron, that would have given him the occasion to mock both his elder brother and the C.M.O., but to his disappointment, the silver flyer quietly walked to the designated repair berth and lay his lieutenant down.

The purple warlord ended up standing alone in the middle of the bay. _Soundly boring!_

"Gnahh! Ratchet, you are really stupid and lacking of the most simple notion of priority!" he growled, before smirking devilishly. "I should have deactivated this worthless triple changer of Astrotrain. He wouldn't need a berth now!" he whispered.

As expected, Ratchet looked daggers at him.

"Out of this place, Galvatron. You're truly disgusting!"

"Mwaah! If I want, medic! We'll see how long you're going to stand before doing what I ordered!" he sniggered.

"Why do you have to be that difficult?" Ratchet sighed.

"I'm not difficult! I'm Galvatron, Commander of this base and when I give an order, I intend to be obeyed! **Gnaahah!**"

O

Megatron ignored the new fall out between Galvatron and Ratchet and set Starscream on the berth. He plugged him to the device and was relieved when the Seeker's shivered while energy flowed in his circuits. Finally, the ruby gaze set on him.

"Feel better, chicken brain?" he scolded.

"Me-Megatron? Why… do you call me that?" stuttered the Seeker, surprised to receive this inglorious title.

"Because Ratchet told me how you fooled him and ran away from the repair bay, at the despise of your own safety. That's a little different story from what you told me back at the custody chamber. Incredible how you tend to act the way that brings you directly wounds or pain. You're exactly like those stupid earthling chickens waiting for a car to cross the street!"

"No, Megatron… I-"

"And how did you reach the Interrogation chamber, by the way!? I guess you were in the same pitiful condition when you escaped… How did you manage to reach the custody chamber?" he roared.

The face of Starscream expressed the most total despair.

"Skyfire… He brought me there," he murmured.

"Sky…fire!" Megatron repeated with anger. His optics flickered dangerously as he yelled in complete anger. "Oh, I see, Skyfire… The 'dear friend of yours… You must be joking! I can't believe this fool saw you in such dire straits and didn't bring you back to this repair bay! I'm going to rip out the wings of this big turkey and relocate them in his after-burners!"

Starscream managed to grab an obsidian hand and squeezed it as tight as his strength allowed him, just like if he feared Megatron would go away from him to put his threat into practice.

"You don't understand, Megatron! I asked him to bring me there! He didn't want but I begged him-" the breathless Seeker explained, "I wanted to tell you… that I knew you were not the killer of my creator! That I regret what I've done in the past!"

"That was not so urgent, Starscream!" Megatron gasped, the tone of his voice recovering some softness.

"Yes, it was! And I wanted to tell you-"

He was interrupted by a commotion coming from nearby the entrance. Seized finally by hysteria, Galvatron punched violently the wall closer to him.

"Ngah! I'm fed up being here, you little insignificant cowards! I'm not staying here any longer watching you welding useless and pathetic losers! I'm going out!" he screamed of a deafening voice.

Once he had finished cursing around, Galvatron turned his heels around and walked with anger to the door. Megatron could see the severed circuits sparkling beneath his faceplate. No doubts that his injuries were aggravating his already inconstant and violent nature.

"Where are you going, you fool?" Megatron boomed toward his brother.

"Where do you think I'm going this time, fool yourself? Cooling down outside! Ripping out some Stalker's heads, otherwise I'm going to rip out the head of this slagging medic!" Galvatron exploded, pointing at Ratchet, "You know! You remember? 'Kill! Smash! Destroy! Wrend! Mangle! DISTORT'!" (1) Galvatron stopped there his sinister list of tortures, looking with bright optics and a totally crazy expression at Megatron. His mouth curled into a disdainful smile. "Oh! But I forget that the softy you became can't understand this anymore, too busy to hold the hand of your little 'sweetie!' **Gnaaah! **Disgusting! You're not worthy of the title of warrior anymore!" he mocked.

Galvatron threw a last hatred glance to his surroundings and exited on the corridor, cursing once again against the "cowards of the base".

Megatron looked down at Starscream, and then at the hand that was squeezing his. He felt suddenly extremely un-at-ease under the realization that struck his mind. No, this feeling was not dead yet. It was buried deep within his spark, waiting the first occasion to enslave him again.

"I have to go now," he coldly whispered, pushing away the blue fingers.

"But, Megatron-!" protested the flyer, trying to grab his hand once more.

"Stay here, be quiet. I'll come and see you later."

Ignoring the cries of his Seeker, Megatron hastily exited on the corridor. Away from this conversation and the strange atmosphere it generated.

Away from Starscream.

**To be continued**

Reference: '_Kill! Smash! Destroy! Wrend! Mangle! DISTORT'!; this is of course the famous speech of Galvatron in "Webworld", when he is in forced "therapy"._

* * *

_(Text revised on 2008/7/3)_


	15. Ch 15: Reunion of fire Disillusions

**Chapter 15: Reunion of fire (2) - Disillusions**

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks**

The radars of Silverbot reported that the plan was working as Cyclonus expected; the massive enemy Tanker was under heavy fires from both the aerial and the terrestrial squads. Too busy to strike back, the machine was not taking care of the threat coming from the other side of the river. Moreover, each member of his team was following different flight paths, so that the Tanker could not pinpoint them all together.

Everything seemed to go along, a little too well to the taste of Silverbot. He had detected a kind of noise on his radar, coming from the heart of the ruined city, diffused like an electric ghost lurking over. That could be very well the sign of the activity of Stalkers, as the robots were perfectly able to hide their energy signature on a radius of five kilometers. It seemed odd that they were not trying to protect it however. _'I'm getting worried for nothing!'_ he thought before opening his COM' link.

_(To all Aerialbots, be ready to regroup and merge in Superion!)_

A series of "Copy" echoed in his audio processor.

Silverbot set his pilot driver to the point of gathering, between the unprotected flank of the machine and the river, and banked on his left, charging fool speed at the Tanker. On his left, Slingshot and Skydive swooped down at the same speed. Air Raid and Fire Flight were getting close to the target from the right.

The time to check the position of his wing mates, they were arrived close to the point of gathering. The big black war machine was giving all his best in the fire against the flyers responsible of distracting it and was bombing the other bank of the river. It was not paying any attention to the other side.

_(Aerial bots! Merge into Superion! Let's blow up this heap of scrap metal!)_ shouted Silverbot. "Attack!"

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Main command Room**

Prowl watched with satisfaction the gestalt Superion coming to life, piece after piece. Once assembled, the giant clamped his hands to the flank of the Tanker and pushed to throw it off balance. The tank machine tried to resist but finally toppled on the side. Its weapons spit fire and lasers, shooting the surface at the water, transforming the river into a foggy valley. A last strong push tipped it over. The Tanker ended on his flank, its four giant legs trashing in the air and the water. It was now completely vulnerable; unable to fight back the shots of its enemies or to shift its weapons on the side it was attacked.

"Go Superion, go, go! Destroy it!" the tactician exclaimed. Both Jazz and Blurr were looking with the same hope at the killing of the devastating machine.

"Calm down, people. We're not done yet!" warned Blaster, checking with frenzy his monitors.

"What's going on?" asked Prowl, suddenly in alert. Blaster was the kind of mech who could keep his optimistic mode even in the heart of an energon storm or quantum surge. If he was suggesting there was a problem, it should be serious.

This feeling became increasingly certain when Blaster abandoned the analysis of the data to stare at him.

"Stalkers' swarm, heading straight at the river. Contact within 180 seconds… 200 hundreds units detected."

Prowl was a resourceful mech and was rarely taken aback with surprise. However, this time, he couldn't help but gaped at his communication officer. How, Primus, how could have so much enemy units hidden their approach until now?

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks**

"Cease fire!" ordered Optimus Prime to the fire line, "We mustn't hurt Superion!"

All the cannons stopped their deadly chanting and Cybertronian optics set on the gestalt. Superion was fighting well and would avenge the destruction of Cybertron as well as years of suffering on Earth. One of the most deadly weapons of the Empire of Salonia was just about to be deactivated.

_(Optimus! May I have your attention?) _

The despair in Prowl's voice did not fit the aura of hope that reigned on this bank of the river, floating around every mech like holy grace.

"What's going on? Prowl? You seem-"

_(Stalkers, Prime! 200 Stalkers! Contact within 130 seconds!)_

"What are you talking about? There is no energy signature suggesting that-" observed Optimus Prime.

_(There is! Ghost like, but there is! Believe me! You know I wouldn't give such an information without double-checking! You know me!)_

The truck leader walked to the edge of the bank and watched carefully the other side. Blue optics peered into the darkness while sensitive audios and powerful radars analyzed the pattern of each vibration. Optimus Prime detected nothing, saved a very light buzzing.

_(Optimus! You must trust me! Fire at the other side of the river. You must shield Superion!)_

"Very well, Prowl, I trust you!" the red Transformer replied and then turned to his troops, "Cybertronians, ready to fire at will at my command! Be careful to not damage Superion or the aerial fight force!" he ordered.

"What's happening Optimus? There's nothing over there except a losing Tanker and a winning Superion," retorted Rodimus Prime.

"I hope so, Rodimus, I hope so," replied Optimus Prime, "Shockwave, can you ask the aerial teams to stick to Superion and be ready for eventual attack?"

"I hope your sudden worries are not relevant," groaned Shockwave, opening his COM 'link_. _

_(To all aerial members! Red alert level 2: be prepared for imminent attack from the city!)_

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, not far away the repair bay 32**

Once again, Megatron was not very surprised to find Galvatron waiting for him, nonchalantly leaning against the wall.

"So you came. I was sure that-"

The words of the purple Transformer were stuck in his vocal processor when Megatron's fingers snapped around his throat. The back of his head slammed again the metal with a loud clang but his face refused to quit his smirk.

"Hear me sound and clear, "Galvy". Tell me once again I'm not a warrior and I'll personally tear apart your armor, piece after piece, and crush your spark with my bare hands!" groaned Megatron.

"Mwaahh!"

Galvatron managed to extract himself from the killing choke. Such attempt against his person was usually the trigger to destructive fury. But strangely, he looked satisfied.

"So, the old Meg's I know is still there," he cackled, pointing at the center of Megatron's chest. "Ruthless, violent, disrespectful to anything, anybody, even to his own family… Equal to what he was few hours ago, trying to kill me! I prefer you like that… Mwaaaah!" Frankly laughing, he walked to the next sass and activated the door panel. "Now, I have something to show you…" he added.

The heavy door opened on a hell bound scene. Megatron's optics scanned immediately the scene of Superion charging against a massive four-footed war machine, the shock of their two giant bodies echoing in a thunderbolt. The war machine lost its balance and then fell lamely on its flank. Cybertronian flyers came to fly nervously around Superion as to protect him.

"That's… us!" declaimed Galvatron, "That's what we've been created for. Warfare, battles, explosions, deaths of enemies… and certainly not what I've seen few minutes ago!" He walked to Megatron, whose optics were glowing of a dark red. "You and I are warriors! We live for battle! There's nothing more important in life, nothing!" Galvatron groaned, "And everything, anybody else, including your "little bird"IS NOTHING! Expandable things that you can use eventually for distraction, nothing else!" The mad optics of Galvatron stared straight into the two pools of dark blood of his brother. "You can take him anytime… He's at your feet like a little pet is at the feet of his master. Why would you care about such a weakling?"

"I… DO NOT care about HIM!" Megatron replied through greeted teethes, "And what you saw back at the repair bay was a commander handling once again the sorry aftermaths of his foolish and incompetent lieutenant!"

The two brothers glared at each other silently during few seconds and then Galvatron burst into a hysteric laugh.

"Oh, yes! I see how you'd like to "handle" the birdie! Mwaaaaaah!" he mocked openly, "And I know why you take so bad any remarks about him… and you."

Once again, his vocalize was cut by Megatron's killing grip.

"DO NOT TRY my patience, "Galvy"!"

This time, Galvatron didn't seem to appreciate the situation and clawed at Megatron's wrist, trying to free himself. However, Megatron refused to let it go; his grip tightened even so hard that he could feel the cables twitch beneath the plating.

A crude yellow flame suddenly lightened the scene of what could become a fratricide. On the middle of the river, Superion swayed and fell back in the dark water. The loud "clung" and "splash" of his body connecting with the liquid didn't come to them, covered by the strong whizzing produced by many engines.

Then new lights came from the other side of the river. Beautiful as firefly, deadly as snakes are for humans, enemy lasers and bombed aimed at the Cybertronian army.

"A swarm of Stalkers!" roared Galvatron, pushing Megatron back hard enough to get free from his brother's grip.

"What?"

"It looks like there's something more urgent, and I would say, more thrilling than your "private affairs"!" Galvatron coldly replied, "I have Stalker's heads to add to my quarter's wall!"

"You, Moron! I already warned you about such a profanity!"

"Make my day!"

Megatron watched his brother taking flight in the incandescent background of the current battle. Hundreds of images came back, all from their gladiatorial past. The idea to look back in the direction of the repair bay emerged in his processor, but he denied it. He would not give into the weakness of thinking to Starscream. Not now…

He pushed on his thrusters and dove in the pure hell of the battlefield.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks**

Through the connection so characteristic to Gestalt, each of the five Aerialbots were very aware of the pain and wounds inflicted to the four others. An exercise in suffering particularly difficult to go through although it was the second time they were experiencing it. They had been victorious over the Tanker before treacherous shot on the back had brought them to their knees. They were however too close you their goals to give it up. They had few time left to react: the war machine had managed to come back to a more "comfortable" position. No more leaning on its flank, the Tanker was kneeling on the hind legs and was already straight on his forelegs.

_(Listen to me, all… It's out of question that we let this devil machine coming back at the peak of his power_!) radioed Silverbot.

_(Yeah! Just jump again this heap of scrap metal!)_ agreed heatedly Air Raid.

_(Just tear him limb after limb, you mean_!) Fireflight chuckled.

_(If we do as you suggest, the heavy artillery on its flank might shoot us down, if I may say…)_ Skydive warned.

_(Bwaah! One shot or another… We can take anything, aren't we_?) Slingshot giggled.

_(Talk for you, you loudmouth!)_ echoed Fireflight and Air Raid.

_(Guys, please, let Skydive expose the bottom of his thoughts!)_ growled Silverbot. Getting angry was not really a part of his true nature, but sometimes, he had hard time to understand Air Raid, Fireflight or Slingshot. The first was just impulsive, the second, reckless to anybody sharing with him the sky –including his wing mates – and the last one was just like a sibling of late Cone' head Thrust. Fortunately, there was Skydive.

_(I suggest we catch him by the legs and send him back to the flank, it's a position the Tanker becomes inoffensive.)_

_(Good idea. And anyway, it's the only sensible plan we have. We do this!)_ decreed Silverbot.

_(Yees! Let's give it hell!)_ shrieked Slingshot.

O

Superion shook his carcass and came back to his knees. That was not necessary to stand up and offer himself plainly to the fires of the Stalkers, floating around them like a swarm of vultures around a rotten carcass. Two titanic hands clamped, one around a foreleg, one around a hind leg, and Superion pulled them to him with all his might and strength. As expected, the Tanker lost its balance and fell on the other flank, back to complete ineffectiveness. However, the move had its drawback; the Stalkers doubled their bombing on Superion, in order to chase the Gelstat away from the helpless tank machine.

_(Let's finish it ! Before they finish us!)_ shrieked Silverbot.

A giant foot dug on the flank of the tanker, shattering dark metal panels.

_(Wait! You don't feel something is strange!)_ Skydive called.

_(Yes! The ground is like… moving?)_ asked Fireflight.

_(Earthquake? Maybe?)_ slipped Air Raid.

_(Guys! Look… I don't think it is an earthquake!)_ Slingshot replied.

The pectoral beacon of Superion lightened the body of the Tanker, showing clearly the origin of the vibrations. Bellow the gigantic foot, panels had shifted. The Tanker was now separated in six parts, each one sinking on the river or shifting away from the killing pressure.

_(Oh! Primus! This thing is… a Gestalt!)_ Silverbot exclaimed. _(Guys! Split up… Split up! Superion has failed!)_

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, main control room**

"Cameras! Focus all the cameras on the Tanker! I want detailed pictures on this from every angle!" ordered Prowl.

Jazz and Blaster silently complied, typing frantically on their keyboards in order to move and adjust the best as possible the twenty surveillance cameras outside.

"Look! It.s.separating! It.s.separating!" whined Blurr, "It.can.transform!"

"Calm down Blurr!" enjoined the tactician.

What he could see on the screen was enough spreading negative waves of electricity in his spine so that Blurr doesn't add stress with his babbling. On the battlefield, the Aerialbots, aware that Superion was now useless, and caught under the fire of the Stalkers, had come back to their individuality, and were fighting back as fierce as they can. The six parts of the Tankers were sinking down and wouldn't be any more on sight within few minutes.

"So, it's that way the Tanker went out the river. It assembled underwater," he enounced, calculating in his mind the true meaning and potential implications. "Gentlemen," he finally voiced, "What we are the witnesses is with few doubts allowed a Salonian Gestalt. And by the same time, a major turn in the conflict against the Empire. I'm afraid, not a so positive turn for us."

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Repair bay 32**

Starscream's sensors recorded strong vibrations as a new blast against the base shook the walls and rattled all the glass in the repair bay. Forced to reactivate his optics, he saw nothing but the cold and dark metal of the ceiling. Several meters above him outside the protection of this black ship, Transformers were battling against the Stalkers of the Empire of Sallonia. They were not fighting for revenge or to make the aggressors pay for the destruction of Cybertron; they were fighting for their very survival. And he, Starscream, the fierce aerial warrior, was lying on his berth, unable to join this battle. Unable to battle at Megatron's side.

The walls vibrated once again around him and some equipment fell on the flour. Starscream could hear the other mechs bustle about picking it up and he tried to lift his upper body to have a look at the damages. Unfortunately, he could not; his energy levels were still too low to enable him any movement. He was totally helpless and as miserable as he used to be after a beating by Megatron. '_However, it never should have become a vicious cycle of provocation and beating between us,'_ he thought, his spark hurt by forgotten sorrows.

Primus! When had all this violence started? Starscream vaguely remembered the first altercation. It was right after he had heard the "truth" from "Galvatron". He had entered the meeting room, insulted Megatron after the warlord had lectured him about his delay, refused to apologize, and finally, had finished knocked on the floor, the silver foot of his Commander flattening his back. Yes, he had been the first to attack and start this "war". The conflicts had not been daily routine, however; Cybertron was vast enough so that they had not had to meet for hundreds of years. It was quite different from the time they had been confined on their underwater base on Earth. Crossing Megatron on a corridor had been an exercise he had to carry several times a day, often concluding with a bump or a shot embedded on his frame.

And most often the time, he had been the one to add fuel to the fire.

A new explosion… He heard a welding machine escape from the surface of a table and roll onto the flour with a cling-cling. Nobody tried to stop it. The three robots had returned to a calm demeanor, trying to work on their patients, but they couldn't help but raise their head when a new explosion against the metallic shell of the base shook the whole place. Starscream wondered if it was a missile crashing against the external panel or a robot sent to death by an opponent. He shivered at the idea and hoped that it had not been a Transformer. At least, not a Decepticon. Not Megatron…

For any onlooker, it would have seemed a strange thought coming from a mech who had dedicated a great part of his life to backstabbing his Commander. Starscream himself couldn't find a clear explanation to his ambiguous way of thinking. He remembered he had been so taken aback when Megatron asked him to show his true colors. To his greatest shame, he couldn't remember his own answer.

But he could remember so well all each incident of this private war that he had conducted against Megatron, and especially a particular one, when he had found himself prisoner of a coalition Decepticons – Autobots, with the only alternative to be crushed under the feet of Brutticus. Cornered, the fusion cannon of Megatron directed straight at his head, he had accepted to help the Autobot and Decepticon coalition, wondering if it would be enough to save his afterburners.

O

_Starscream looked at the wires pouring out of the cranial box of Bruticus, split open like a vulgar electronic component, and tried to chase away the terrible thought that he might end the same way. He really doubted that Megatron would show any forgiveness toward him, despite his sudden undivided cooperation. Starscream had gone further than he ever had before, his acts of rebellion ranging from simple insults to an outright assassination attempt. Begging would certainly not have much effect on the furious Decepticon leader… _

_The Seeker shuddered when he felt a hand resting lightly on one of his shoulders. It was a soft and gentle touch. The sensation reminded him first of Skyfire, but he discarded this eventually. Skyfire was still on Earth and had not participated to the operation. Moreover, Skyfire wouldn't be friendly with him anymore. One of his wing mates? It was also a possibility which was discarded. Thundercracker and Skywarp didn't hide anymore that they despised him. He could understand their reaction: he had never tried to apologize to them or justify his actions. Who could this mystery 'bot be? _

_Turning around, Starscream faced a smiling Megatron who was observing him with rapt attention. _

"_Megatron-" _

"_Very well, Starscream, you have redeemed yourself!" said the silver robot, looking satisfied, "Your plan worked and Bruticus is ours. You might return to Earth… as my subordinate!"_

_Starscream's optics almost blinked in shock. What was going on in Megatron's head? Was he so twisted that he appreciated being betrayed by his second in command? Or was there a hidden meaning here? _

"_Thank you… for sparing me, Megatron," he replied, making his best to not stutter. _

"_Once we finish reprogramming Bruticus to obey only me, he will be unstoppable! Mwahahah!" Megatron chuckled, while he clenched his fist as if he already held the universe in his palm. Starscream looked at the obsidian fingers and wondered why they were not around his neck, squeezing him to death. _

'_Why don't you kill me Megatron? After all I've done, I obviously deserve it,' he pondered, watching discreetly the madden smile blossoming on the silver faceplate. 'You don't need me to work on Bruticus; the Constructicons could do it just as well. So why?'_

O

After that incident, overcome with doubts about his own behavior, he decided to show some sign of redemption toward Megatron and did his best to abandon treacherous plans, keeping his null-rays and cluster bombs for the Autobots. He never completely stopped provoking Megatron; the large mech seemed to just put up with it. However, this mysterious and powerful need for violence was still here, deep in his spark.

Deprived of the freedom to purge his lethal impulses inside the Decepticon base, Starscream became a pure demon outside. His favorite targets were of course the Autobots, but Starscream became gradually more reckless, cruel and imprudent on the battlefield, wounding quite often the members of his own team. The praise of the Decepticon Leader about his redemption was replaced by reproaches, then by warnings and new promises of punishment. Not willing to restart a war against Megatron, which he knew could never turn in his favor, he kept a low profile. But the frustration and the desire for murder that ran through his energon tubes like a poison made him more and more unstable.

Until one day, he snapped...

Just in the middle of a battle, Starscream entered in a complete fury and frontally attacked Optimus Prime. The Autobot leader quickly took the upper hand, wounding the Seeker's wings but Starscream did not seem to realize it. Yelling, kicking, thrashing like he was possessed, he became the focus of the battlefield; Decepticons and Autobots alike stopped and stared with horrified optics at this scene of pure madness.

Finally, Megatron managed to tear him away from Optimus Prime before the truck shot him in the chest. The Decepticon leader kept the Seeker firmly pinned between him and a rock, until Starscream stopped struggling and running low on energy, went limp against him.

O

He didn't remember what happened after. He didn't hear Megatron's order to retreat and had no memory of the trip back to base. He regained some of his senses when his back slammed against the wall of an interrogation chamber with such a brute force that he believed Megatron wanted to embed him in the structure. Numb with fatigue and pain, he looked at Megatron, optics pleading.

"What happened to me?" he asked.

"What happened to you? You little idiot! It's me who should ask this question!" howled Megatron, slamming the smaller frame again against the wall, "What where you trying to do with Optimus Prime! Commit suicide? Bring shame to the Decepticon army with such a foolish action?"

"I… I never tried… to commit suicide… Even less-" stuttered the Seeker.

"I don't know what you had in mind… Where you even thinking at that time? Had you even noticed that Optimus Prime, frustrated with your pathetic assaults, was ready to shoot you right in the spark box?" shrieked the silver robot, "Did you even felt the barrel against your chest or were all your sensors blind with your madness?"

The Decepticon leader released the pressure on Starscream's shoulders and the Seeker slid along the wall to sit on the ground.

"I don't know how you got this "death wish,"Starscream, but if it is to consume you, I won't let it consume the Decepticon army. You have become a threat to everybody here!" Megatron snapped.

"No! I am not a threat!"

"Oh! Yes! You are! There is no battle without one or several Decepticons being injured because you don't even care who you are firing at! Your wing mates are afraid of flying with you! Even me, I wonder if you won't shoot me in the back!"

"I won't Megatron, I swear! I've stopped my treachery," whined the Seeker.

"Oh, yes! You stopped with your treachery only to exchange it with sheer madness!" spat back Megatron, looking indignant, "But if you don't have the strength to stop it, I will, with or without your agreement or help!"

"What… What are you going to-?"

"You are confined to base, Starscream, until Hook or Soundwave find what's wrong with you! And if nothing improves, I will have you reprogrammed if necessary. It is completely out of the question to expect me to put up with a second in command who is as insane as you appear to be!"

Starscream shivered at the idea of having his mind manipulated and his core programming altered.

"Why don't you kill me instead?" he breathed, staring deep at Megatron's optics. The Decepticon leader knelt slowly in front of him, getting close enough so that Starscream could hear the main generator in his chest. "Chase away this death wish that poisons you and you will find the answer by yourself."

O

Terrified of Megatron's ultimate threat which was worse than any punch or laser shot, Starscream did his best to repress his murder desires. He avoided reprogramming but he never completely managed to channel his violent outburst and murderous desire. When he was on the verge of exploding and felt the urge to vent his violence on Megatron or any other Decepticons, he flew away and exiled himself in a desert area where he could fire in all directions, break rocks until his hands were scratched, his null rays empty and his body depleted of energy. He suspected that Megatron knew about his escapes; the Decepticon leader had barged into his quarters after his long absences and caught him several times when he was tending to his bleeding body.

He never tried to fight the "death wish" as he couldn't understand what it was really about. This evil was still lurking, somewhere, inside him, whispering at him to reject reason and choose madness. And of course, he never found the answer to the question of Megatron's strange "lenience" toward him. Until their escape from the ruins of the city, when Megatron gave him some answers. Until his memory had allowed reminding him that he had been close – and even intimate - to the Decepticon leader.

"Why did I hate you? Because I didn't ever try to know the truth," he murmured. "Because you were right when you told me that my emotions, whatever it is jealousy, over-grown ambition, sadness, boldness or madness… Everything blinds me, weakens me. And I can't do anything about it! You're so right. It's like a death wish… as if I've been programmed to aim for my own destruction."

His head fell back, and he sighed. Today again, if only he hadn't been so foolish, so impulsive. If only he had complied with the command of the medic, taken some rest and recharged properly, he wouldn't be here but outside, in the sky, scattering away Stalkers and this so-called Tanker.

'_Scattering away Stalkers!'_ Starscream shivered at the thought, both by desire and fright of succumbing to the temptation of crawling to the battlefield and stupidly sacrifice his life. No! He wouldn't listen to this "death wish" and would be reasonable this time. Searching his operating system, he found the program launching the auto-repair sequence. He knew it would plunge him into a light stasis but that was the only choice he had left. A voice, deep inside him, hissed "coward! Get out there and go and fight!" but he ignored it.

While all his systems powered down he made a promise to himself. Once he got online again he would do his best to regain his honor as Air Commander. He would rule the sky and lead his fellow Cybertronians to the doom of the Empire of Salonia. All would call him "Lord Starscream, the ruler of the skies!" again and respect him as a wise officer.

And above all, he would act with more reason and never again, let this "death wish" – whatever it was – get the better of him. He would make himself worthy of battling at the side of Megatron.

No, better… He would make himself worthy of being by his side.

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo, not far away the main battle field**

"Soundwave, do you hear me?" radioed Thundercracker through the Com' Link.

The radio link crackled, struggling to establish, certainly due to the fact Soundwave was at full-speed and was flying irregularly, in order to disturb the guidance of the missile.

_(Affirmative!)_ finally answered the stalked aircraft. _(Missile detected on my tail and locked on me! Require assistance immediately!)_

_(Yes, we know, we know!)_ cut Skywarp, _(We're right behind you! Now listen… I'm going to warp beside you and push you out of the way, while TC is going to blow the missile before it catches us! Follow strictly what I say, and everything is going to be fine!)_

_(Don't be long!)_

O

Soundwave would have willingly replied by a "mayday", but kept it buried in his vocal processor. He had no intent to throw Rumble or even the squishy female into panic. Both were silent, certainly ignoring that the situation was so dramatic. Soundwave had changed many times direction, in order no to enter too far into the ruined city or move away from the base. He could feel perfectly - on his core and on his radars - that the missile was eating slowly the distance. Instinctively, he pushed on his thrusters, engines at full power. His speed increased in few seconds, until he felt his whole frame shaking and that various messages appeared on his main control screen. In a very short time, it became a concert of alerts, the most serious warning being "Speed limit override - Danger of shell destruction and termination - Come back to your robot mode."

_'No! No! What's happening? Not now, not now!'_ he panicked at the feeling his jet mode was shifting by itself to robot mode.

As a last resort, he broadcast a short status report to the two jets trying to save him.

O

_(What in the pit are you doing, Soundwave?! Keep your jet mode!)_ roared Thundercracker.

_(He won't! Look! He's transforming!)_ warned Skywarp. _(I have to warp now… Be ready to shoot!)_

_(Don't be silly, Warp'! I won't be close enough! The missile will have time to redirect on you!)_

His protests got no answer for the good reason that Skywarp was not at his side anymore. Thundercracker saw in a few seconds Soundwave coming back to his robot mode, the brutal deceleration tearing away one of his wings. Skywarp was not visible yet but Thundercracker knew he couldn't wait to see the shape of his wing mate on sight to shoot. He unleashed one of his cluster bomb, very well aware that if Skywarp didn't show up, the bomb would end straight on the missile but also on Soundwave.

Thundercracker watched the scene like in slow motion. The air beside Soundwave seemed to distort, blacken and then was filled with a huge black and purple winged body. Taking his entire consistence, Skywarp grabbed firmly a stunned Soundwave aside, sending them backward. Few meters above them, the cluster bomb took the missile on the side, activating an explosion that could fry sensors of any Transformer around. A thick cloud of flame spread on the air, shattering some of the buildings around. In the middle of this inferno, he believed he saw the two bodies colliding with a building, destroying half of his structure. Then the two shapes disappeared behind a dark smoke cumulus.

_(Slag! Skywarp! Soundwave!)_

* * *

**On the battle field**

Cyclonus dodged the blade of one of the two Stalkers that he was engaged against but could not avoid the one behind him to dig his own saber on his left shoulder. The Air Commander managed to tear off the weapon out of him and then seized his riffle. He shot the guilty robot, then its two accomplices, before spotting three others ready to attack him.

"No! No! My plan should have work! You damned invaders, killers of my home planet!" he shouted and ignoring his injured shoulder decapitated the closest Stalker. As expected, his adversary clamped his clawed fingers around his throat as the pilot was still very alive in the chest of the robot.

"I'll kill you all!"

Despite its efforts, the robot couldn't prevent Cyclonus to dig his blade in the chest where the cockpit was supposed to be. The machine became limp against Cyclonus who hurled it against its two charging wing mates. All at his revenge and methodic killing, Cyclonus didn't see that a fourth Stalker was tranquilly aiming at him with a riffle.

Cyclonus only realized that he had been in real danger when he heard the explosion of the robot behind him. He spotted Scourge among the floating remains of the enemy, recharging his weapon for a next shot.

"We're out-numbered!" the Sweep roared, "Where are they're coming from? We didn't even see them arrive!"

"They must be new models, with improved camouflage equipments. I received ghost energy signatures before they arrived, nothing that can be taken as hundreds of fighting robots," Cyclonus replied.

"I don't know. We won't be able to push them back indefinitely!" retorted Scourge, ready to fire at two other Stalkers swooping down on them.

He aimed at the one who was heading to him while Cyclonus executed his wing mate. Caught in the torso, the two Stalkers crashed on the water. The two Transformers didn't care following their path down the river, already focusing on the new enemies charging at them. The way they regrouped and endlessly came back to attack was somehow hopeless. Kill one Stalker, and they would be three or four to come after you.

Looking on the direction where his two new "wing mates" had disappeared, he saw that a dozen of black robots were on their way, following the same flight plan.

"Did you see what Soundwave picked on the bank?" asked Cyclonus.

"Nope. The Tanker fired at him right after he had collected it."

"Cover me. I'll try to catch up with him and the two other Seekers. Something tells me that all those Stalkers are after them!"

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Repair bay 32**

The Weevil and the Grasshopper Transformers were slowly recovering from the reanimation process under the impatient stare of their stag beetle sibling. Meanwhile, Shrapnel was busy with the removal of several panels on the ceiling in the obvious intention to leave this way rather than by the door.

Once again, Red Alert wriggled on the cocoon of wires in which Shrapnel had bound him.

"Why are you doing that, Shrapnel? Why aren't you waiting tomorrow to reactivate them?" complained the officer, trying to touch the few reason left somewhere in the bug's processor. "I don't understand what you're doing!"

"Waiting tomorrow is not an option… option," the beetle replied, "And you don't need to know my plans… Plans."

"Or maybe, you don't have any plans! You're hiding that you're just acting on an impulse by pretending to plotting something, aren't you, Shrapnel?"

The Insecticon glared at him with annoyance. "Have you ever wondered why the Salonian Empire never blasted this base away, Red Alert… Alert?" he asked.

"Of course, I have. Who would have not? In decades, nor ship neither Stalkers have dared push attacks too much further in the base."

"And if I tell you I know why… Why?" Shrapnel chuckled.

"I'd say you're bluffing!" retorted Red Alert.

"Really? Then I'd concluded you're stupid… stupid!"

The conversation stopped when Kickback gave out a buzzing, immediately mimicked by Bombshell. A third buzzing answered the two and Red Alert understood the three Insecticons were chatting in their own Insect-like language.

"Will you stop babbling in your bug's dialect!" yelled Red Alert, more and more upset by the situation.

"Bug's language, you said... said?" Shrapnel replied, voice now dripping with irritation, "Why, you over-contempt Autobots and Decepticons, have to say, "bug" with so much sarcasms and disdain! Disdain!"

"What?"

The tone of Shrapnel somehow surprised the alert vehicle. The Insecticon had never displayed emotion in twenty years. He showed interest only in battling and getting food and was independent enough to disappear during long weeks, absorbed in somewhat activities, somewhere in the base.

"I know what has escaped destruction when this ship had been shot down twenty years ago… ago," he added, "I know where it is on this ship…ship. I have wandered enough in the tunnels of this wreckage transformed into base to know it to its most insignificant pipe… pipe. No secret is foreign to me here… here."

"Then… Why didn't you discuss with Prime, or Shockwave?"

The antennas of Shrapnel twitched once again, evidence of the annoyance of the Insect Transformer.

"Why should I share that secret with them? … Them? What have they done to improve my life over there? There?" he replied with venom, "Nothing! Nothing! They stopped nothing, kept Insecticon bashing and mocking on… On. And me, I say… Enough… Enough! Insecticons take over… over!"

Saying that, Shrapnel switched to his buzzing, antennas twitching nervously. Bombshell and Kickback replied the same way and then transformed to their Insect mode. Jumping out of their berths, they joined Shrapnel under the hole created on the ceiling. Gathering their strength, the two jumped up and rushed into the darkness of an evacuation tunnel.

"Where are you going? Shrapnel!" grumbled Red Alert, "There is no way for you to escape without being detected by our radars!"

"That's what you believe! Believe!" retorted the beetle, jumping up in the tunnel, "I know plenty of places in this base you have no idea… idea!" Shrapnel retorted and chuckled mischievously. "I'll notify Prime and Shockwave of our conditions later on… on."

Red Alert heard the familiar noise of transformation followed by creeping noise. Transformed into his beetle mode, Shrapnel was certainly moving away in the tunnel.

"Stop, Shrapnel! Come back here!" Red Alert screamed. Silence was the only answer he got: the three bug Transformers were not here anymore. "Slag it!" he cursed, wriggling in order to extract himself from the strait jacket of wires he was stuck in.

**To be continued…**

**Note:** the full version of Starscream's reflections is detailed on a side story, "The Death Wish".

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/7/4)


	16. Ch 16: Reunion of fire Battlefields

**Chapter 16: Reunion of fire (3) - Battlefields**

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks**

Thundercracker struggled to find his way through the dark smoke. He tried first to fly on jet mode but, realizing that he was too close to the ruins of buildings, he came back to his robot form. Using his antigravity systems to hover between the canyons of concrete, he tried to trace any energy signature that could lead him to his fallen wing mates. He was some ten meters bellow the ground when he made out a black wing emerging from the wreckage of an office building. He swooped down and saw that the piece of metal was still attached to a purple and black body, which was trying his best to extract itself from the coating of metal and concrete.

"Warp! You… Idiot!" whispered Thundercracker while a smile of relief lifted the corner of his mouth.

He quickly landed nearby the wrecked body and reached it with a hand. "Ouch!" was his first reward when he touched a limb.

"Sorry, Warp'… How do you feel?"

"Like a bawling skittle after a strike!"

The grin of Thundercracker widened. At least, Skywarp had not lost his stupid earthling humor. That was the sign he was not deadly injured.

"Can you move?" he asked.

"I think my right leg is in spare parts… My left arm is not better."

"I'm going to help you! Just tell me when it hurts," Thundercracker whispered. He set his hands on the back of Skywarp to turn him over but stopped when a moan of pain reached his audio receptors. "Sorry… I-"

"You go and check Soundwave. I'll just take a break in the meantime…"

"But-"

"Go! You' big sky blue duck!"

"At your command, King of nonsense!"

Comforted in his idea that Skywarp's damages were not extensive enough to deprive him of his sorry sense of humor, Thundercracker left him and started to explore the neighborhood. His scanner notified him of the presence of a massive form sprawled on the ground between two ruined skyscrapers. Coming closer, he also detected two other energy signatures radiating from the same place.

"Soundwave… And maybe Rumble?" he wondered, "But what about the third one… An hostile?"

Whatever the answer was, he had to see for himself.

O

"Okay… At three, I turn over!" promised Skywarp to himself, expecting the consecutive pain that this exercise would generate. He was to make his first attempt when he heard the familiar buzzing of a flyer's engine followed by the noise of transformation.

"TC, I told you I would manage by myself! Go and check Soundwave!" he whined. No answer replied to his admonition, save heavy footsteps, moving straight toward him. Finally, a foot set in front of his optics while the new comer stood beside him. "Oh, no. Let me guess… It's not TC?" he gulped.

"No! It's not TC!" a familiar voice replied. He was to serve his best apologies when he was lifted up like a feather by the wind. His injured arm and legs protested immediately as small fireworks blossomed on the severed wires. Skywarp remained stoic, although he knew that he was heading to more pain if he didn't find a way to calm down the purple shuttle Transformer. _'How Screamer had begged Megatron last time that he was in such a mess?'_ he wondered, running desperately a scan of his memory bank.

"Oh! Cyclonus!" he exclaimed, "You… found me…"

Lifting him by the shoulders to optic-range, Cyclonus glared at him with resent.

"I can put my orders in my after-burners, you said?" he asked with rage in his voice.

"You know words… You shouldn't attach that great value to words!" whined Skywarp, trying to look convincing.

The face of Cyclonus tensed under the obvious effort not to let his anger explode. Skywarp wished sincerely he was not there.

"You're lucky that a squadron of ten Stalkers is heading straight to here," Cyclonus hissed, emphasizing each syllable, "Otherwise, YOUR afterburners would be in the greatest pain now!"

"Would it comfort you if I tell you they are already?" suggested Skywarp, pretending to the most innocence as possible.

Cyclonus released the shoulders of the jet without delicacy. The injured leg of Skywarp banged against the ground tearing off a series of "Ouch! Ouch! It hurts!" He did not have the leisure to explore the potential of his vocal processor that Cyclonus grabbed him by a wrist and pushed him forward.

"We have no time… Lead me to the two others!"

"Hey! Careful! There's a broken leg here!" protested Skywarp, balancing on his valid foot.

O

Thundercracker leaned the unconscious Soundwave against the most resistant wall. The navy blue Jet was the perfect representation of "a mess"; his wings were smashed, his arms and legs fractured and his canopy cracked. However, Thundercracker couldn't help considering that it was a miracle that Soundwave and Skywarp were still functioning and "relatively in one piece". More incredible was the fact that the two occupants of Soundwave's canopy were alive - and conscious - as well.

The gaze of the blue jet rested on Soundwave's face, where the cracked battle mask did not hide anymore the faceplate beneath. He had heard that the head of the mech had been one of the few original parts used to rebuild him. What was beneath the battle mask and behind the monotonous voice had always been a source of conversation in the Decepticon army, if not a legend feeding various fantasist hypotheses? Ironically, the crash of Soundwave was just on the way to lift the veil of mystery surrounding the third in command of the Decepticon Army. As far as Thundercracker could see, Soundwave's features were regular to the most, perfectly decent. Why was he hiding his real face if it was not to mask a natural disgrace? To hide a secret, like his identity or his true origin? To answer the question, Thundercracker needed to see the whole face of Soundwave but something made him hesitate to uncover the faceplate of the unconscious mech. Curiosity piercing his spark, he eventually extended his left hand slowly to touch the broken surface of the battle mask.

"Stop daydreaming, we're not out of this hell!" he sermonized himself, withdrawing his hand.

A commotion from behind definitely reminded him in the middle of what he was, and he quickly lifted his arm, aiming his mounted-riffle to the direction of the noise. He almost blinked of surprise when he saw a limping Skywarp trailed by a fuming Cyclonus emerge at the corner of the street.

"Cyclonus?"

"Oh! You remember me, traitor!" groaned the Air Commander, before glaring at Soundwave, "Is he functional?"

"Yes… But he can't be moved without proper medical care," Thundercracker replied, not sure whether the purple flyer was here to rescue them or finish them. "Why do you ask? You didn't care about him less than hour ago!"

"Ten Stalkers are coming here, for him, or whatever he carries!" Cyclonus dryly retorted, "And if my sensors are correct, they've just landed few hundred meters away."

A chill ran through Thundercracker's circuits.

"Stalkers… Just beside us?"

"Yes… Skywarp! You will watch our back!" groaned Cyclonus, shoving the purple and black Seeker close to Soundwave.

Skywarp complained incoherently about his injuries, crawling beside Soundwave. Leaning close to him, he detached the riffle from his injured arm and kept it on his valid hand, pointing it to the back of the street.

"And us?" asked Thundercracker.

"Us? Well… We'll be the main defense… Ready to suffer, Seeker?"

Thundercracker did not answer, but in his mind, everything was clear. He would stand there and nothing would make him back out. Not even a Stalker squadron!

O

Despite the evident disadvantage in number, Cyclonus was not too pessimistic about their chances of survival. They were relatively safe, covered by the high walls of the street and could fire without too many risks of backfire. The entire question was to know how much the walls would resist to bombings and if Skywarp would be able to cover their back in case of surrounding. The purple flyer had sustained heavier damages than it appeared at the first sight and the way he had whined under Cyclonus' grasp was the perfect evidence. Potentially, they were only two to defend themselves.

Looking at the still body of Soundwave, Cyclonus saw something moving on the shattered cockpit. A human to be precise. His highly accurate optics picked the pale face of a female earthling. He did not know why, but he got the strange feeling he had already seen her somewhere but could not find any information in his databank. However, the identity of this female was a point important to check, he was almost sure of that.

"I come back right away," he assured Thundercracker.

O

"Hey, calm down!"

Rumble watched with tired optics the human female getting more and more agitated on her seat.

"You heard them, Stalkers are coming! It's my fault if they're after us! Let me go, maybe they'll spare you if I surrender!" Nerte exclaimed and stood up from her seat, looking in the direction of the hole in Soundwave's cockpit.

"No! You're not going anywhere!" retorted Rumble, catching her wrist. Metal brushed against metal, and that was weird. 'What is this "Nerte"? A squishy? A robot? Something between?' he pondered, troubled.

His head banging against the main consol rewarded this few seconds of inattention. He felt the human's knees pressed against his back while the barrel of a gun set against the back of his head.

"You won't stop me! Enough people have died because of me!" she snarled.

"But! Nerte! Look! They gonna kill ya… And us also!" Rumble objected, trying to set free from the threat in his back.

Finally, Nerte released him and jumped on the console, trying to leave the cockpit. She fell backward when she saw a big faceplate set near the hole, looking at her with curious red optics.

"You?" the Transformer exclaimed, "I believed you were dead!"

Nerte got on her feet, looking at the robot with a kind of resignation.

"I was… oh, Cyclonus… Yes… I was dead, in hell…I-"

"You'll have to wait a little longer before telling your story!" cut the purple flyer, looking at the Cassetticon, "Rumble, I suppose? Here's your mission; you don't let her go away from here. Out of question that the Stalkers take her, if it is really what they want! Clear?"

"Yeees!"

"Cyclonus! They're coming!" called the voice of Thundercracker. "I need you here!"

"Hold on!" Cyclonus replied. Looking up, "Skywarp, do not let any Stalkers come close to Soundwave! Copy?" he inquired peremptorily.

Rumble could not see the Seeker but heard him acknowledge with a grunt. Skywarp was never that silent in battle, which told him that the situation was critical. He heard the footsteps of Cyclonus decreasing, while laser shots started to snap here and there around them.

"We're doomed," lamented Nerte, shaking her head nervously.

Rumble wondered what he could do to calm the human and then remembered some earthling movies that he had watched a long time ago. He grasped her shoulders and slowly, leaned her against his chest. Nerte did not make any move to free herself from this embrace and finally stopped shaking.

"Everything gonna be all right…" he assured, trying to be convincing.

Indeed, why wouldn't he be all right? Thundercracker, Skywarp and this Cyclonus were there to protect them. Moreover, they were within Soundwave. Rumble knew that his creator would never let anybody hurt him. He might be unconscious now, but he would wake up soon and destroy any threats to his life.

"Everything gonna be all right," he repeated, reassured.

* * *

Shockwave shot down another Stalker – the tenth or eleventh? He couldn't remember – and then looked back at the rotten situation beneath him. From his high position in the air, he could see that two of the Aerialbots were still engaged in the battle and that the three others members, injured, were heading to the West, trying to return to base. He could not blame them: Stalkers were used to catch injured Transformers and use them as living shields to break into Cybertronian ranks. What a horrible way of termination! For sure, some Stalkers would hunt down the retreating Aerialbots, but he would keep his optic on them, to be certain they would not be shot down. They were pieces of Superion, after all. Even if the Gestalt was unsuccessful in battle, it was their only available combiner. Shockwave was persuaded that they needed more Gestalts in this conflict, to the contrary of Optimus Prime and Prowl, who were focusing all efforts on aerial power.

"I'm sure that Devastator or Menasor would have been welcomed today," he voiced to himself.

On the East bank, the situation was not better: the ground team was struggling hard. The Transformers gifted with flying capabilities were on the air, the others, on the ground, but all of them were dealing with grapes of Stalkers. How many troops have the Salonian Empire sent to hit them? 100? No, more... 200 or 250. That was one of the major strikes of the decade.

Shockwave traced three or five engines heading to his direction but couldn't determine the exact number. That was utterly troubling: Stalkers could hide their energy signatures but not more than 5 kilometers before the target's radar. Today, they were nothing else but ghosts fooling radars with a terrifying ease.

"Prowl, are you here?" He asked, activating his com' link.

_(Shockwave! What's the situation on the battlefield?)_ asked nervously the tactician.

"Not good… We are more or less outnumbered, although we inflicted some consequent losses to their ranks."

The tactician sighed on the far extend of the Com' link.

_(A Gestalt… Then Stalkers able to hide their energy signatures until very short distances to strike. I'm afraid the Empire is testing on us its new weapons… Unfortunately, they are deadly efficient.)_

"Maybe…" granted Shockwave. "But the emergency doesn't lie in this point… Have the earthling aerial squadrons ready to take off! I hope we won't have to engage so many forces in the defense of the base, but we must be ready to guard again all contingencies."

_(At your command, Base Commander!)_ acknowledged Prowl.

"End of transmission!"

Shockwave cut the com' link and ran a new scan of his surroundings. He recognized Dirge and Swoop's energy signatures few hundred meters away and the presence of some fifteen Stalkers in his immediate neighborhood. Without hesitation, he headed to them; the more Stalkers he would destroy, the better.

* * *

Optimus Prime was firmly pinned on the ground by two Stalkers when he heard a primal scream covering the tumult, and saw one of his assailants being kicked mercilessly, taking air to crash against a rock. The one holding his feet exploded in tiny spare parts, while a hysteric laugh welcomed the success of the shot.

"You? You were not supposed to-!"

His comment did not find an end as he was carelessly hauled to his feet.

"Since when have you enjoyed biting the dust?" Megatron rasped, shooting a piercing red glance at his old foe. Without turning his head, he finished with a single blast the dazed Stalker, entangled in pieces of rocks.

"I asked you a question, Megatron! What are you doing here?"

"Kill! Smash! Destroy! Mangle! DISTORT'! Ngaaaah!"

Optimus Prime glared at Galvatron who was frantically shooting at all the robots that had the bad call to move, shrieking hysterically. Caught in the blind shooting, Cybertronians and Salonian warriors alike fled away for cover.

"You hear my brother, Prime? I guess you have your answer!!" Megatron replied. He dropped Optimus Prime on the floor and adjusted his shot on a Stalker ambushed over them. The robot was caught on the torso and exploded, pouring parts of his body and various black fluids on the two Transformers beneath.

"Megatron, that doesn't tell me what you are doing here!" growled Optimus Prime.

His remark was ignored; Megatron was already pursuing the runaways, tearing apart Stalkers with his bare hands, using his both canons when the black robots were too far from him. Optimus Prime wondered why his old nemesis was in such a furry and how long he would be able to sustain such a power consumption. Galvatron was not in sight anymore, but his voice and his insane litany could be heard in the thickening fog.

Optimus Prime looked down at his body, covered with dark droplets of the Stalker's synthetic blood.

"We're just in hell!" he said on the tone of regret. Seizing his fallen riffle, he ran into to battle.

* * *

Going back to the beginning of the Great War, there was an Autobot proverb stating that there were two ways of battling; fight cleanly like an Autobot, or deceive the enemy like a Decepticon. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were one of the few Autobots who had decided to swap this black and white truth for a more grayish reality. For them, deception was the essential quality for a warrior to survive, although they were starting to experience that it could also lead to self entrapment.

Since the launch off the Stalkers' assault, the twin Lamborghinis had withdrawn from the battlefield where their comrades where trying to contain the aliens. Not that they were not caring about them; they had just spotted a place where to ambush the enemies, in the middle of a field of concrete blocks, used long ago as barrage to prevent watering of the coasts. Piled up irregularly, the concrete tetrahedrons were forming a perfect labyrinth that they were the only to possess the key. The twins just had to wait patiently that one of the aliens flew over or enter the area to shoot him down and disappear discreetly. The plan could have worked, if the number of Stalkers going after them was not that overwhelming.

Back to back, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were now reduced to watch the no-man's land between them and their enemies shrinking away.

"Mayday… Mayday!" called the red Lambo in his COM' link. Unfortunately, his request for help remained unanswered. "Slag!" he finally cursed, shooting down a Stalker that had come too close.

"Don't lose your time with this! Keep your focus on those heaps of scrap metal!" growled Sunstreaker.

"What do you think I'm doing?"

"Start by watching out what's over you!" shouted back the yellow car.

Sideswipe looked up and spotted two stalkers, aiming at them with a big canon looking strikingly like Shockwave on his gun mode.

"What the slag it that?" he ranted, aiming his own riffle to the hovering black robots.

"Wanna hear my opinion?" growled Sunstreaker, staring at the red light growing in intensity within the barrel.

"Nah! I Don't care!" Sideswipe replied, spotting the same light.

"Take cover!!" screamed the yellow Lamborghini, jumping away from their place, clutching firmly the arm of his twin. The two rolled on the ground, the shock of the blast crumbled the ground where they stood just seconds before, until they bumped into a block. Sideswipe's body absorbed mainly the shock to the point he could feel the metal of his back and lower back being flattened against a bad angle. Sunstreaker did not get a better treatment; the second explosion that rattled the area whipped up a cloud of flames and burning dust that fried his most exposed panels. The twins almost off-lined under the shock, although their conscious told them that they had to move in order to avoid a permanent termination.

"Side… Can't move," chocked Sunstreaker, "Can you-?"

"No… Can't move neither…"

"What… Can you… See?"

Sideswipe tried to answer but the new wave which rattled the ground shook his damaged frame. A second wave followed, then another, and another. Regular, powerful, like the footstep of the late Devastator. The Constructicons being out of the scene, their bodies conserved in a secret cellar in the base, there could be only one alternative solution.

"Side… What do you see?" asked again Sunstreaker.

"A Brontosaurus…" the red Lambo whispered before he lost consciousness.

Making his best efforts, and still holding his brother in his arms, Sunstreaker managed to shift his position to have a look at the sequel of the combat.

O

The two Stalkers kept hovering over the two Transformers while their pilots actively discussed about the new comer through their com'link. Sludge was well known among the Salonian ranks as an "earthquake maker", a fierce warrior on the ground but not on the air. The pilots laughed through until one of the cackles like laughter ended by a scream. The robot exploded while the second one and his cannon were thrown to the ground by the explosion. Falling at the feet of the predator, the Stalker made a pathetic attempt to escape and was finally crushed under a dinosaurian foot.

O

Sludge came back to his robot mode, kicking away the rests of the Stalker; as expected, other enemies were swooping down, ready to avenge the fallen soldiers. His gaze went to the unmoving bodies of the Lamborghini twins, then back to the black robots, which were now in sufficient number to terrorize any isolated Transformer. However, Sludge was not only a Transformer, but first and over all, a Dinobot. The more enemies there were the better. In addition, he was not alone…

Like a hell bound gigantic tong, a flame bolted from behind a concrete block and came to lick the air close to the group of Stalkers. The one who was hovering lower than the others got a foot vaporized by the heat, while the four others promptly decamped. The time they spotted their attacker, a pin was kicked away by a charging metal triceratops.

Sludge watched his comrade trotting to him and transform in his robot mode with an annoyed look.

"Only five Stalkers? Me Slag say, not enough!" complained the Dinobot.

"Me Sludge say… Agree with Slag!" nodded the Brontosaurus Transformer.

The injured and confused Stalker, still floating over the battlefield, was suddenly hit by a kind of thunderbolt. Circuits disrupting, he fell to the ground like a dismembered bird under the annoyed glare of the two other Dinobots.

"No, really not enough Stalkers… Me, Sludge, bored!"

"Me Slag, even more bored…"

A second block became air borne with the same deafening sound that had announced the arrival of Slag; this time, a metallic Stegosaurus emerged from the wreckages, and jogged to his comrades, trampling under feet the body of the recently fallen Stalker.

"Me Snarl says… Look over. Situation better but still not fun!" he commented once came to robot mode.

The three looked up and noticed that six new alien robots had joined the four survivors, raising the number to ten. However, the mood of the metal saurians did not improve the slightest.

"Me Snarl, not interested… Go and fight elsewhere if not more Stalkers."

"Me Sludge, agrees… Sludge and Slag enough here!"

O

Sunstreaker received a new power failure report and understood he would not be able to stay online any longer. He desperately gathered his strength and shrieked a "Please help!" toward the three Dinobots, but Sludge, Snarl and Slag seemed to be in the middle of an argument, and did not bother to look in his direction.

"Damn it! Slagging metal saurian! You heap of-" he mumbled and ultimately passed out.

* * *

Two precise blasts from his fusion cannon, and what had been a wall of black robots exploded in a rain of limbs and various parts of metal. Once he had cleared the way, Megatron spotted a huge flyer, fallen few meters away and who was struggling with three Stalkers hitting him mercilessly. His spark veered with irritation and anger.

"We have to talk, big turkey!"

* * *

Grimlock threw disdainfully the rest of the Stalker, which had dared decorating his chest with a long black scare, made with a laser blade. Two others charged at him, but he quickly got rid of them by grabbing the two by a shoulder and made them collide in each other. They fell disgracefully, chests and heads cracked under the shock. Being bigger and stronger than the enemy was also a nice thing!

"Me, Grimlock, warn you! Me, Grimlock, bad mood!" he threw to his future opponents, which were regrouping at a safe distance. The T-Rex Transformer glared at them defiantly, until a thick cloud of smoke, formed by the repetitive explosions of the battlefield, hid the gathering. Nothing to alarm him, Grimlock knew perfectly how to deal with them. He suddenly spotted a Stalker watching him, hid in the dark grey nebulosity some few meters from him.

"Me, Grimlock, warned you! Now, too late!"

Flying closer, he heard in the fog somebody screaming "I'll dismantle you all!", but didn't bother about the identity of the owner of this raspy voice. He flied speedily to the spy, grabbed firmly one arm and pulled with all his strength to get the Stalker in good position to be ripped open. He then felt some resistance, as if the Stalker was welded to the fog; furious, he pulled harder and heard this time a venomous "Gnaaaaah!"

Finally, the joints of the robot gave away, and it exploded in three parts. Deprived of its arms, but not its wings, the disorientated Stalker kept floating in front of a very annoyed Grimlock, who was still holding the severed limb. It eventually received a fusion blast right in the cockpit that sent it pirouetting backward and then fell in the dark water bellow. Now aware of who had spoiled his "beat them up game", Grimlock watched a pissed Galvatron emerge from the dusty fog. The second arm of the Stalker flew right at his head when Galvatron threw it.

"You overgrown lizard! Next time, find your own Stalker to quarter! I don't share!" the crazy gunner shrieked.

Grimlock dodged the projectile and glared back with the same amount of irritation.

"Me Grimlock, do what I want! Me Grimlock stronger leader than Galvatron! Go away!"

Galvatron gave out another inimitable "Gnaaaah!" and pointed his cannon at Grimlock, well decided to wash away the insult. However, he didn't power up and eventually lowered it, gazing with interest at the congregation of Stalkers that emerged from the cloud thanks to a blast of wind.

He threw a warning glance at Grimlock and smirked wickedly.

"I saw them first!"

Powering his antigravity system, he aimed straight at the group, roaring one of his favorite motto; "I am your doooooom! Ngaaaah!"

"Me Grimlock, not finished playing with little Stalkers!" the Dinobot leader complained in a scream, but the crazy purple mech was already bashing intensely an alien robot.

He headed hastily to the same way, willing to guarantee his "own share" of the game.

* * *

"Get off me, you slag parasites!" howled Skyfire, throwing one of the undesirable robots off his large frame. He regained shortly freedom of his movements, until laser blades pierced his left hand and his right thigh. He screamed, but did not hear his own voice expressing his pain; his audios and other systems shut down during few seconds. It was not the first injuries he had sustained since the beginning of the assault, and he could feel his defenses faltering.

He suddenly noticed an awkward rise in temperature above him, while the weight of his enemies disappeared off his body. Assuming that somebody had shot down his assailants, he shook himself, his spark sending a pulse to his circuits, commanding to power on.

"Thank… you!" he stuttered, trying to come back in sitting position.

A blow in his jaw sent his head crash against the ground, while pain exploded in his head, once again. Ignoring the buzz in his audio receptors, and the various alert messages that cued in his CPU, he managed to switch on his optics and shift his body to have a better look at his aggressor. The hit had been strong, too strong to be from a Stalker. A foot dug on his midsection, forcing him down. He coughed some energon and stared with some surprise at the silver flyer who was glaring at him, one of his fusion cannons directed right at his head.

"Megatron, what are you doing here? Why are you doing that?" he asked, seizing the foot and trying to shift it.

"You made a mistake today, stupid oversized duck!"

"A mistake? What are you talking about?"

"Keep away from Starscream!"

The optics of Megatron flared with pure anger. 'So this is what it is all about!' Skyfire reflected.

"I just granted his request. I wanted to bring him back to the repair bay, but he refused!" he pleaded, before emitting a squeal when Megatron dug his foot a little deeper.

"I don't care of your sorry excuses!" roared the warlord, "KEEP. AWAY. FROM. HIM!!"

"What's your problem? Why are you doing that?! You should be grateful that I brought him to you, after what you've done to him! You completely perverted him!" snapped Skyfire, now getting upset. Rising suddenly to his feet, he managed to push the silver threat back. His hand clutched his riffle, and he aimed it at Megatron.

"I should have done this a long time ago" he spat, finger teasing the trigger.

"Perverted him, you say?" roared Megatron, "Your hypocrisy is at the size of your big carcass!"

"What?"

"Let's speak about perversion, then! Do you have any ideas in which condition I found him after his crashed? He was broken, in his body, in his mind, because the stupid neutral you were had pushed in his processor the insane idea that he was made to be a scientist! Him, the heir of an illustrious Seeker family! A creature made for war!" Megatron hissed, "You persuaded him to follow you in this ridiculous mission to Earth, without care of what it would cost him. Slag you, idiot! His creator disowned him for that!"

Skyfire lowered his weapon, looking blankly at Megatron.

"I… I ignored that!"

"Of course you ignore it! You didn't even ask or cared about it! The worst is that you abandoned him in the middle of your mission!"

"I crashed!"

"That's the same! The result was the same; Starscream was broken, because of you!" snapped the silver warrior, "Fortunately, I was there… I was at his side to mourn his creator and brother. I gave him a place in my army and restored his self-confidence. I gave him a future! Like it or not, Autobot; you can call me devil, but I have been nothing else than his guardian angel!"

"And you cared so much about him that you bashed him every day that he had the misfortune to spend at your side! Who's the hypocrite here, Megatron?"

The silver flyer looked suddenly confused and pained.

"I had to! They made him treacherous and hysteric… murderous. I had to force him staying in line! But I swear," Megatron 's voice wore an unexpected tone of justification. He raised nervously a hand, which he swung as if he was decapitating invisible heads. "I swear I'm going to dismantle them with my bare hands!" he added darkly, "None of the monsters who did this to him shall survive!"

Alerted by the confusion of Megatron's last statement and the chaos reigning in his optics, Skyfire loaded his weapon preventively, to keep him at bay if further madness was to seize him. However, his facial expression changed suddenly from harshness to bewilderment.

"You're… jealous… of me?" he gasped. "You consider me as your love rival, don't you?"

"Shut up!" roared Megatron, coming back to a behavior truer to him, "I consider you as the stupid neutral who almost ruined Starscream's talents, and I won't let you waste him twice!"

"Yes, you're jealous of me… That's why you want me to stay away from him!" repeated Skyfire, almost smirking. The idea sound so peculiar to him. "I would have never imagined you would come to such feelings for him!"

"You're insane! How dare you say that! I'm going to-"

"You're going to do what? Killing me? No, you're not!" cut Skyfire, pushing on his antigravity system and hovering above Megatron, "you, and I have better to do than fighting each other... at least, not here and not now!" he concluded.

Megatron answered only by a growl and glared at him with a threatening look. From his high position, Skyfire had now a better sight on the silver flyer and the various dents and bumps that punctured his body. His faceplate was crackled and leaked droplets of Energon. He was the frightening personification of the warrior transformed into a beast, throwing recklessly his life, heading straight to his own destruction.

"Primus! Save Starscream from you!" Skyfire growled, "You're insane Megatron!"

O

Megatron didn't care of this last insult. His CPU was already experiencing a critical overload by processing what the shuttle had previously said.

"How dare you Skyfire? Pretend that I'm jealous of you… For Starscream!" he boiled with rage, "Non sense. I don't care about him! I don't care about anybody; I don't have feelings at all! I am Megatron the Mighty One, the slag maker! My life is dedicated to destruction and conquest, nothing else!"

So, why was he in such a rage? The question emerged from the bottom of his processor, insistent, haunting. _'If you don't care about him, why haven't you killed the traitor he had become? Why do you keep saving him? Don't answer what you once answered to Starscream when you rescued him… It's NOT the real reason!' _

"The reason… it is… I-" he whispered and then was struck by the realization. "Noooo !" he screamed, clutching his head as if he wanted to extract this feeling that he had considered as dead for years.

It was still so alive in his spark.

**To be continued…**

* * *

(Text revised on 2008/7/7)


	17. Ch 17: Reunion of fire Hope

**Chapter 17: Reunion of fire (4) – Something called "Hope"**

**Earth Base 0025, Repair bay 32**

"I can't believe Shrapnel dared sequestering me and fled away with the two other heaps of scrapped metal!" Red Alert fumed, while Wheeljack finished cutting the wires around his wrists.

"Calm down, Red… You know that outbursts are harmful to your logic chip," said the engineer jokingly. The rescue vehicle shot him a glance that told him it was not that welcome. "Hey, I'm joking, Red! Moreover, Starscream is out of commission!" added Wheeljack, trying to put it right, "You can blow a fuse if you want, nothing wrong is going to happen to you."

"Wheeljack, you're not fun!" mumbled Red Alert, glaring at the repair berth where the inert Seeker lay. "By the way, how did he come back here?"

"Megatron brought him there… It looks as if Starscream had learned his lesson and put himself in stasis," Ratchet replied, walking to the two, "Look Red, neither Starscream nor the Insecticons are our priority at the time being. There is a war outside, and I wouldn't be surprised that we will have to cope with the battle casualties very soon. I need you to help us carry Blitzwing and Astrotrain back to their quarters, so that we can free the berths."

"Yes, sorry for my bad mood. I'm going to assist… Of course!" Red Alert apologized, following the white and green engineer.

Ratchet thanked him briefly and reached the berth to check the status of Starscream. He couldn't suppress a smile when he heard Blitzwing protesting with colorful language against his exile from the battlefield. Fortunately, Astrotrain's vocal processor was still broken, and he couldn't join the concert of laments.

"Decepticons… I will be always amused by your stubbornness!" he chuckled while verifying the pulse of Starscream's spark.

"So, some sense has been knocked into the processor of the little fool?" Perceptor commented, from behind him.

"Yes! Amazing, isn't it? Do you believe it is thanks to the first modifications of program you included in the disc?"

"That was basic modifications, Ratchet, I don't think it was enough to have such an effect… No, I would rather say… Megatron?"

They both smirked when they saw a blue hand tensed at the name and heard a moan echoing faintly Perceptor's last word.

"Yep, I bet on Megatron too…" Ratchet replied with a smile.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks**

"No!"

Knelt in the wreck of docks and building, the silver Transformer held his head, repeating endlessly the same word: "No!"

That was his only way to avoid losing this identity that he had forged for himself, his army and his enemies. All at his litany and his faltering mentality, he realized a little too late that he was no longer alone. He heard the noise of heavy bodies landing around him and laughed devilishly, like he was used to laugh when he had a mischievous plan to put in practice against the Autobots.

"Do you believe I can be defeated by you, Stalkers?" he chuckled, face still turned to the ground. No answer came but louder clangs echoed around him as enemies gathered. "Too bad for you, but nobody can beat down the slag maker!" he added, rising slowly to his feet.

He looked suddenly up and the only thing the pilots of the black robots could see was burning optics reflecting pure hell.

"Come, Stalkers, and have the taste of the devastating power of Megatron, the Slag Maker!" he roared, firing his two cannons.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, North of Sumida's banks**

The black robots landed one by one at good distance, leaving behind the two Stalkers that had been shot down during the preceding attacks. Cyclonus took care to shatter the cockpit of both, to make sure the pilots would not be a threat anymore.

"Do you have some energy left?" asked the purple Transformer, "My blaster is running low in energy."

"My weapons are also on the red. We won't be able to repel them a long time!" gasped Thundercracker.

"We have to!"

The building where they were taking cover suddenly cracked, just as if he was to split in two from the inside. Cyclonus understood a little too late the seriousness of the situation when a black shape ripped open the walls and leaped at him, tackling him to the ground. The barrel of a cannon set on his forehead, and he believed his last hour had come. Fortunately, Thundercracker quickly adjusted his own riffle and shot down the black intruder. Cyclonus was to thank him when a laser shot passed close to his head and finished on the right shoulder of the blue jet. Thundercracker yelled in pain and fell to his knees, holding his injured shoulder. Cyclonus grabbed his fallen riffle and opened fire blindly in the dark building, blasting everything he could to let no chance of survival or escape to the sniper. The noise of a body falling to the ground signaled that he had succeeded.

"You're okay?" he asked to Thundercracker, still kneeling beside him.

"I've already felt better…" the blue jet replied, stiffening a moan of pain.

"Can you still use your weapon?"

"Of course!"

Cyclonus kicked lightly the Salonian riffle, which slid before Thundercracker.

"Take this one; I'm going to pick up the other one in the building. It looks like we momentarily solved our problem of munitions."

The Seeker rose shakily to his feet, holding the riffle in his valid arm.

"I cover you."

O

Skywarp watched his two battle comrades getting rid of the treacherous Salonian invader and gasped when he saw Thundercracker being shot down by a second one. To his greatest frustration, he couldn't move his weapon quickly enough and didn't get a clear shot to blow up the author of this outrage toward his wing mate. Fortunately, Cyclonus spent no time to put the aggressor out of commission. Skywarp waited until the Air Commander was out of sight to hail the injured Seeker.

"Hey, TC? You're okay?" he asked with true concern.

"Could be better, but could be worse also," Thundercracker replied, "Keep watching our back, okay Warp?"

The purple flyer nodded and gazed at the energon dropping from the wound on Thundercracker's shoulder. That should hurt like hell, but he knew that his wing mate wouldn't complain about this. Although Thundercracker wasn't a true supporter of the Decepticon cause, he had always acted like a good soldier and never failed in his duty.

'_Slag! If only I could move, I would help him!'_ he cursed inwardly, looking at his dislocated leg.

His attention focused again on the other side of the street, when he heard a moan coming from the big blue mech leaning beside him. Red optics flickered through the now useless visor.

"Soundwave? Do you hear me?" asked Skywarp, setting a hand on the flyer's shoulder.

The mech turned his head and nodded weakly. Soundwave's hand reached slowly the remains of his battle mask and visor, which he tore away shakily. Skywarp gaped at the now unveiled face as he recognized easily the ethnic group: High Guard of the scientific council of Cybertron. Soundwave was one of those neutrals who had been created at the end of the Golden Age to study alien forms of communication and used their skills to develop trade with other civilizations. How that pacific wannabe had reached a so high position in the Decepticon army? How had Soundwave escaped the destruction of this race by Megatron?

"Skywarp?" murmured Soundwave.

"Yeah? What-?"

"Behind you!"

Skywarp turned around just to find himself staring at the insect optics of a Stalker, ready to cut him in two with an energy blade. The red alert did not have the time to buzz in his processor that he had already shot the hostile, shattering the cockpit.

"Holly primus! By all the pit of Cybertron! And on Earth! We can never be at peace with you!" he roared, hitting the unmoving black carcass with the back of his riffle. "Why don't you stay on your slagging spaceship, playing poker, drinking energon? What else I know? Leave us alone, you freaks!"

Each of his words came together a new hit, then another, shattering more metal from the dead shell.

"No! Better! Why don't you turn the engines of your slagging spaceships and go and destroy another corner of the galaxy?"

"What are you doing, Skywarp?" the voice of Cyclonus boomed, "Keep your energy for the battle and watch our back position!"

Skywarp, panting, looked at the Air Commander, back to the side of Thundercracker with a Salonian blaster, then at his wing mate and finally at Soundwave.

"I… I-" he stuttered. "I'm not becoming mad! I'm in perfect control!"

"On your position!" ordered Cyclonus. He leaned against the opposite wall of Thundercracker and ran a silent scan of the neighborhood.

Skywarp nodded silently and came back to his uncomfortable position of sentinel, ashamed by his weak behavior.

* * *

**On the stratosphere, at the vertical of the Base 25**

Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia

Comfortably sat on his throne-like command chair, Greebo looked confident on his army. A perfect composure that didn't suit his usual character; during an onslaught, he was more the yelling type, occasionally kicking his subordinates to encourage them to give the right orders to their troops. He was a Salonian enjoying pressure – especially when he was putting pressure on the others – at the deciding point of the battle. However, here and now, it was different; the Salonian squadrons and the Cybertronian fighters were slaughtering one another in a confused fight. Explosions made it difficult to follow the different "private battles", and nobody could say which side was to win. Or if there would be any winner.

"What's the situation on our side?" Greebo eventually asked, nervously scratching the armrest of his chair.

"Half of our Stalkers are gone… missing, not responding… presumably deactivated." answered the communication officer.

One of the claws of the base commander dig on the metal, and his poisonous blood, leaking from the inflicted wound, started to dissolve the ironworks.

"Are you kidding? You're telling me that those… junks of metal have destroyed a hundred of our battle agents?" he screeched in his alien tongue.

"Yes sir!"

"And what were you waiting to tell me that! The total destruction of the squadron!" he yelled, "Send another squadron… and if it's not enough, another! This conflict with the base 0025 has long lasted!"

"Oh, sure, Commander Greebo, it has long lasted… due to your incompetence!" a voice hissed. All the screens on the Command room switched all together and showed the face of Greebo's worst nightmare: his leader and Commander of the Salonian armies.

"Commander Braxis, what a surprise to hear your voice, I was not expecting-" he stuttered, almost ready to slip on his knees.

"Spare me your lame courtesies; I'm not here to babble in the space as you like to do!" Braxis replied, "You're dismissed for this position, Greebo. I'm replacing you!"

Greebo jumped out of his command chair, gesturing in a vague attempt to beg.

"You can't do that, while I manage the situation so well… I am too valuable here!"

"Valuable! You're kidding, or are you stupid enough not to see the disaster you are driving this base into!?" growled Braxis, while his face went on close-up shot on the screens, "But today is the worst of the worst!"

"But, if I may-"

"Silence! I decide that today's attack is over! I order the survivors of the squadron to retreat! No attack or actions will be taken until the arrival of the new Commander of the base!"

The general's voice reached a so high-pitched frequency that all bows in front of his face in a faint submission, hiding gestures of audio protection.

"Who… Who will be the next commander?" eventually asked Greebo, having some hard time accepting his discharge.

"The commander Thanatron. He will come with his creator, the High-Counselor Nyxeris," replied with contempt Braxis, before closing up again his camera, "I recommend you to find quarters adapted to their size if you don't want to finish crushed under their feet!"

The General chuckled then stopped the transmission, leaving the Command Room in a deadly silence. Greebo himself remained few minutes in the contemplation of the black screen as if Braxis was still grinning at him.

"Damn you Braxis, how dare you replacing me by this heap of scraped metal and his bitch!" he growled to himself.

"Hum… Commander… I mean… Greebo… What do we do now?" asked the second in command.

Greebo glared at him with a mad expression and then covered the whole crew with a predatory look.

"Well, for me, I think I will start to reward you for your incompetence!" he chuckled.

All the officers understood immediately the meaning of this; they screamed and ran to the exit.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, North of Sumida's banks**

"Keep firing!" howled Cyclonus.

On his side, Thundercracker replied strictly nothing, dodging a laser blast that destroyed the wall he was leaning against. Losing his balance, he felt backwards, crushing his energon-soaked arm in a loud tug. Exposed to the shots of the Salonian snipers, he tried to catch his riffle, but had to withdraw his hands in a self-defence position when laser shots started to rain around him.

"Cyclonus! Please, save me!" Thundercracker shrieked.

O

From the place he was hidden, Cyclonus enraged. There was no chance for him to reach Thundercracker safely; he was just liable to get himself done in. He knew that using an isolate sentient to bait the others was one of the usual tricks of the Salonian soldiers, but had no solution to rescue the blue Seeker.

"Slag it! Thundercracker! I can't do anything for you!" groaned Cyclonus, hitting the edge of the wall with his clenched fist.

"Thundercracker!!"

Turning his head to check who has pushed this despaired cry, he saw that Skywarp was trying his best to get on his feet and rescue his wing mate.

"No! No! Idiot! Don't stand up!" shouted Cyclonus, beckoning him to stay in his position with profusion of helpless gestures. Fortunately, Skywarp was to injured to reach a standing position and sat back with a growl of frustration.

Refocusing on Thundercracker, Cyclonus saw that he was still circled by the lasers of the Salonian, but their patience growing thin, the shots were closing to the huddled up frame of the flyer. The roar of engines just beside him distracted the Air Commander, and he held up his riffle, ready to take down a possible kamikaze. The only thing that prevented him to unleash the power of his weapon was the familiar likeness with somebody that he knew. Indeed, the oval-shaped flyer swooped down, transformed few meters before touching ground and took Thundercracker away from his torture. With the run up created by his thrusters, the Sweep managed to propel himself and his guest far away from the reborn rain of electromagnetic projectiles, crashing beside Cyclonus, who dogged the two rolling robots. He watched with some amusement the newcomer cursing in Cybertronian, entangling himself from a dazed Thundercracker.

"Scourge, that's from far the worst entrance you've made! Anyway, I'm happy to see you," he chuckled.

The sweep crawled to a wall opposite to him and detached one of his shoulder riffles, which he firmly pointed towards the snipers.

"Are you sure? What about if I tell you I brought with me the Stalkers that were chasing me?" asked Scourge with indifference.

Cyclonus aimed briefly his own weapon at Scourge, and then pointed it on the same direction.

"I would say, I'm not surprised," he replied the same way and then turned to Thundercracker. "Join Skywarp… We're protecting the front, take the back!" he ordered.

O

Thundercracker accepted silently this new order. Still shaken by this last experience, he stumbled towards Skywarp and Soundwave.

"You're… okay?" asked nervously Skywarp when Thundercracker sat in front of him, "Your arm… You're bleeding!"

"I'm fine!" the blue flier replied, leaning on the ground so that the ruins of a house shielded his form.

"You're sure?"

"Warp'! I'm fine!" Thundercracker screeched, "So now, keep your attention on the enemy!"

"Ah… Yes!"

Skywarp withdrew his hand, and silently came back to his former position, trying his best to not look at his wing mate. Thundercracker felt a little guilty with his reaction; it was his mistake that had brought him under the enemies' fire, not Skywarp. Venting his fear and nervous tension on his wing mate would lead to nowhere.

"Listen… Warp, I'm sorry," he finally apologized, not leaving the back-end of the street of the optics.

"That's okay… Apologizes accepted." Skywarp answered equally.

O

On Soundwave's cockpit, Nerte had regained her calm composure and sat back to the pilot's seat. She tapped her fingers nervously on the command board and then turned to Rumble.

"Do you have any means to radio your Headquarter?" she asked.

"Me? No… My Com' link is dead… Why?"

"I don't know if we're going to make it, but anyway, I have to deliver important information to the leaders of your base. It's of prime importance!" Nerte said. Fear was absent from her voice.

"I see… Soundwave! Your COM'link, can we use it?" asked Rumble.

"I can bear it during 3 minutes, no more," the flyer replied, various lights shining on the ceiling at any of his words.

"That will be enough to explain!" Nerte replied, looking at Rumble.

"Soundwave… Please… Do as she asks…"

A brief silence followed, just trouble by the vague crackling of a communication device in search of the good frequency. Finally…

_(Flyer Soundwave on report. Prowl, answer requested as soon as possible. Priority: high!)_

_(Prowl here, communication established… Soundwave where are you?)_ the tactician replied.

_(No time for explanations. Somebody wants to talk to you…)_

_(Soundwave-?) _

"He's right; we have no time to waste! Listen to me and don't interrupt me!" cut Nerte, "My name is Nerte Reignault, and I was a pilot of your base, under the command of Air Commander Dirge. I was shot down 25 months ago during the attack of a Salonian destroyer. A patrol of the Empire of Salonia captured me, sent me to one of their base in orbit around Earth."

_(What the-?)_

"I said: DO NOT INTERRUPT ME!" commanded Nerte, "There are many things you need to know about the bases of Salonia…"

O

Cyclonus and Scourge raised their weapons when they heard some commotion coming from the side of the Stalkers. With all the smoke and the thick fog, it was almost impossible to see what was exactly happening on their enemy ranks.

"Do you think they're ready for their last push?" asked Scourge.

Cyclonus nodded with little conviction. "I don't know, might be," he vaguely answered.

Noises of propeller ignition made them clutch the trigger of their weapon.

"Look up! They're jumping above us," screamed the Sweep.

Both warriors aimed at the vague shapes that pierced the grayish atmosphere, heading upward.

"Something's strange," whispered Scourge.

"Yes, they're just keeping flying up… maybe to better swoop down on us?" Cyclonus replied.

Their internal clocks chimed out slowly the seconds, each one suspected to be the early signs of a true hell. Finally, total silence set up, leading them to an incredible conclusion.

"They've… left?" voiced Scourge, as if he was interrogating himself.

"Yes… They've left," agreed Cyclonus, lowering his weapon, "As mysteriously as they came…"

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Sumida's banks, Main Battlefield**

"They're leaving! Look, Optimus! They're retreating!" Rodimus Prime exclaimed, running to his leader. The red truck Transformer kept his riffle up, on a targeting position, watching incredulously the black shapes becoming only small points in the sky as they headed to an unknown destination.

"They're not hiding in the city. They're going back to one of their base, in the stratosphere," he whispered to himself, "Something has changed on the Salonian side… This had never happened before."

"If I may say, Optimus, this battle had been different from the previous attacks. This is a new turn in the conflict!"

Optimus Prime turned around to face his counterpart, Shockwave.

"Do you have an idea of what was the purpose of all of this? Simple trial of new weapons? Or something bigger than this?"

"I don't know… maybe both? Anyway, Prowl has just radioed me that Cyclonus found Soundwave and Rumble… and an unexpected guess," said Shockwave, his word flowing from his invisible vocal processor as if nothing of this hell had happened.

"Unexpected guess?"

"A pilot of this base, supposedly dead for at least two years, after her F-22 crashed in mission. It just appears the woman is very alive, partially rebuilt with Salonian technology… and has an incredible story to tell us!"

"What story?" asked Optimus Prime, not inclined playing at riddles.

"It looks like the Salonian army keeps prisoners in one of their spaceship. Human and Transformers alike… for scientific research purposes."

Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime exchanged worried glance. The truck Transformer finally switched on his COM' link, searching quickly the good frequency.

"Prowl? Optimus Prime here. Shockwave told me about the human pilot… Where is she?"

_(Prime? Nice to hear your voice again! Scourge is bringing her AS SOON AS POSSIBLE… They should land within 15 minutes.)_

"Very good… Have the woman confined in an interrogation room, with a thorough protection team. Shockwave, Rodimus Prime and I are coming back right away!"

_(Prime, Ratchet asked me to bring her to the medical antenna. We should maybe-)_

"Prowl, look… If the Stalkers hadn't called the retreat, we would have been slaughtered one by one. Something is under preparation on the Salonian side. Not the best for us, I'm afraid. We have no time to lose! We don't know what could come next!"

_(Hum… Yes Optimus!)_ Prowl replied, his voice betraying that he wasn't agreeing with the decision.

"Thanks Prowl… We'll be shortly back at base… Can you-?"

The end of his sentence was covered by a strong commotion behind him. He turned around and was not surprised to find who created the disturbance.

O

"I killed twenty-six stalkers by myself, you stupid lizard!" shrieked Galvatron, landing in a noisy "clang" on the remains of what had once been the Sumida River gardens.

"Me… Grimlock… Say… You… Liar!" Grimlock replied, landing by his side.

"And this, what do you think it is?" roared the crazy purple Con, waving the few stalkers' heads he held by the wires pouring out of their throat.

"You took them on the battlefield… after their deactivation!"

"That's called trophies, you sorry excuse for a warrior! I brought all of them down by myself!"

"Galvatron, what are you doing with that?" rang the voice of Optimus Prime in his audio receptors. Galvatron grimaced when he saw the truck leader walking to him.

"Bringing trophies! Isn't that obvious?"

"You're not bringing them into the base! They are not toys and I don't want to take any risks with potential bombs. We already picked up some bodies and will keep them on a secured area. We'll think about the cleaning up after!"

Galvatron took his most upset expressions and threw his "bouquet" of trophies on the ground.

"Spoilsport!" he said angrily, pointing accusingly at Optimus Prime.

"Maybe…" the base commander replied, his voice betraying some annoyance, "But if I was you, I would rather use my remaining strength and go and search for Megatron. He hasn't returned yet."

Galvatron shrugged his shoulders with despise.

"Who cares?" he replied, his attention suddenly attracted by an approaching white shuttle.

O

Skyfire saw with relief that most of the members involved in this difficult battle were still functional. Of course, there were casualties; the twin Lamborghinis were carried by Sludge and Slag, and given the color and form of their bodies, the medical team would have work to do. The rest of the team wasn't in a better shape, walking shakily or holding wounded limbs. He was not an exception and almost crashed instead of landing. He could feel parts in his stomach aching at each of his movement, and his chest bore burns caused by Megatron's fusion cannon. Among the several wounds puncturing his body, he could say the ones inflicted by the Decepticon leader where the most serious. Megatron had really tried to kill him.

"Well… Well, Skyfire, it looks like you have bumped into a serious opponent!"

The screechy voice of Galvatron scratched his audio receptors and gave him a start. Galvatron, the crazy brother of Megatron… What this insane mech would do if he came to know that he had an argument with his elder brother and abandoned him in enemy hands, beset by craziness? Megatron must be dead now.

"Stalkers… Who do you think I fought against?" he replied.

"Mwaaah!" laughed insanely Galvatron, kicking away a dark head among the pile that was at his feet. He walked to Skyfire, hands on his hips, and smiled cruelly. "Where is he?" he asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" Skyfire replied, feeling driven inexorably to his loss. He was bad at lying, and knew that professional liar like Galvatron would never believe him.

Indeed, Galvatron closed the distance and raised his face so that his blood-red optics peered straight at Skyfire's blue optical sensors.

"I'm talking about the fight between two peacocks for the beautiful optics of a red, blue and white goose. Where is my brother?"

He was like an animal at bay; lying was now meaningless.

"I was in the old area of Tsukudajiima, close to the bridge… Megatron came. I believed it was to help me, but instead, he shot me down. He wanted me to keep away from Starscream. I tried to reason with him, but he was cracking up, speaking confusedly… I- I left him."

"Mwaah!" Galvatron gave out a new cackle like laugh. "I wonder what Starscream would say if he came to know that you let his dear leader in dire strait in the middle of a battle." He stepped back and powered on his anti-gravity system. Hovering around Skyfire, he cast him a mischief glance. "Oh, yes! That would be fun! Let's say if my brother is dead, I uncover the truth to your dear little goose… Mwaah!"

The purple mech circled Skyfire one more time, and then took air on to the direction of the bay.

Skyfire felt suddenly empty and desperate: he hated that thought, but he sincerely hoped Megatron was still alive.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, South of Sumida's banks**

Galvatron had to fly a good hour along the river, still lost in nebulosity, before he found who he was looking for. The silver body was lying on the top of a small island, unmoving and surrounded by more or less big parts, certainly the Stalkers that he had killed before being beaten down.

"Here you are…"

He lost no time to land near the unconscious mech and ran a quick check up of his battered body. He was alive, barely. Megatron's hand was buried deeply in the smashed cockpit of a Stalker. Various gashes and bumps punctured his legs and back, and some wires were still sparkling under short circuits where plating had been ripped out. According to the status of the bodies lying here and there, he could say that Megatron had defended his life for dear.

Galvatron knelled at his side and slowly pressed the tips of his fingers against a cheek, whipping away energon that stained it.

"You've done well brother, you've done very well! But, you see, I am the one who is still standing up, and you are the one who seems ready for the melting pit."

"I am… still… functioning," whispered a broken voice, while two optics blazed ruby red.

Galvatron smirked, still stroking gently the cheek of his brother.

"Wanna bet?"

The optics of the broken warrior lost their defiance and went black.

* * *

**Earth Base 0025, Repair bay 32**

Nobody took care at the door opening on a purple mech, holding in his arms a damaged silver flyer. Members of the medical team were too busy with broken limbs or leaking pipes, and the patients, too busy screaming. There was nobody to witness the touching scene of a warrior, saving his older brother despite all the hatred and sufferings that had separated them.

Finding the idea too melodramatic, Galvatron buried it in the depth of his memory bank, assorted with the flag "junk". Anyway, he hated to enter a place with everybody ignoring him.

"Where is this damn medic?" he shouted. All the gazes fell instantly on him. The warlord pinpointed the two sapphire optics of Ratchet, glaring at him. "Oh, here you are, Ratchet! So, does he fit the criteria to get some medical attentions, or do I have to bump him into some more walls to get him on the blink?" he added, enjoying the exasperate expression of Ratchet. However, the medic did not crack up.

"We're out of our depth. Try to find a place to lay him down… I'll patch him, as soon as I can."

"Humph! Service still leaves much to desire in this repair bay!" Galvatron sniggered, turning around conspicuously to offer disdainfully his back at the medic's sight.

That was enjoyable, but a problem remained: finding a place where to lay down Megatron. Wherever he scanned the vast medical bay, all the berths were already occupied and the less injured mechs had to seat on the floor. He recognized Cyclonus who was speaking with a blue jet, sat next to him, and a whining purple one, sprawled on a berth. The so-called Soundwave was in broken pieces on a berth beside them, a tiny mini bot at his side, and Scourge was not far away. Aerialbots were the other occupants of the berths; three of them wore extensive burns on their body. Galvatron chuckled seeing the yellow loudmouth Lamborghini had the chest plating repainted in black (_'Eh! Eh!'_) and his equally pretentious twin had been consistently smacked on the bottom.

'_Were stalkers able of some kinky things?'_ he mused. There were also other "ground-ponders" among the injured, but either Optimus Prime or his pet, Rodimus Prime, neither Shockwave, either this spoilsport of Grimlock, were on sight.

_'That's a pity, unless they're dead!'_ he regretted.

"Where… are… we?"

Looking down, Galvatron saw the red optics of Megatron flickering as he was wandering between consciousness and stasis.

"I brought you to the repair bay. This damn Ratchet will fix you, as soon as he gets his hands free," Galvatron replied, and then smirked. "So, now you have no choice but to recognize my superiority on you, and owe me for the rest of your life! No! You'll have to worship me at your leader! Mwaaah!"

"In… your… dreams… Dumb…ass! I worship… and obey… nobody!"

Galvatron chuckled; not that he was offended, but he had just spotted a way to teach an extra lesson in humility - well, actually in humiliation - to his proud brother.

"Let me show you the contrary… Mwaaah!"

O

"Where… are… you… carrying me?"

"You shall see… I'm sure you're going to thank me for that! Mwaah!"

Megatron tried to break free from the grip of his brother, but his body refused blatantly to move. Various alert messages were scrolling down his internal monitor, scrambling his thoughts. Even speaking, or keeping his optics powered were a countless effort. He wanted to fight back and go away, but reduced to a powerless mass of metal, a helpless puppet at the hand of a mad child, he knew he could not. He shut down his optics and let the regular pace of Galvatron's walk leading him straight to unconsciousness.

_(Stasis lock imminent!)_ warned his mainframe computer.

The pace stopped and he was rested on something metallic. _A repair berth?_ No, it couldn't be… That was not flat. What was Galvatron doing? Pushing back the upcoming stasis, he managed to brush a surface with his right palm. It was curved, slick, not too cold, and even pleasant_. A cockpit?_ He shifted his face, and the tip of his nose grazed at a smooth surface. _A faceplate?_ Suddenly worried about against what or who he was resting, Megatron powered on his optics while pushing on his arms to raise his body.

The sight of the calm features of Starscream, plunged in stasis, hit him stronger than any shot he had received during this battle, or ever before. That was not painful, but rather reassuring. A so strange and antithetic feeling.

_'So, he followed my order and staid there?'_ he mused, somehow relieved of that. He was not deactivated on the battlefield, as he had feared.

_'Feared…? I feared for his safety?'_

The optics of the Seeker were shining slightly, but Megatron couldn't say if it was a reflection, or if Starscream was conscious. His right hand set on the Seeker's cheek, fingertips brushing almost shyly the cool metal. His mouth outlined a smile, and how strange it could be, he didn't try to suppress it.

"Oh, Starscream… How did you make me care that much about you?"

_(Stasis lock imminent, start within 15 seconds.)_ warned his main computer, (15, 14…)

"No, no brother! Don't thank me! You deserved this reward! I was sure it was the place you wanted the most in the world to be," the voice of Galvatron purred in his audios.

_(9… 8…)_

"Oh! Last thing… There are twenty pairs of horrified optics looking at you!"

_(7... 6...)_

'Slag you! Bastard!' Megatron stuttered.

_(5…4…)_

"I swear… I'll… kill you…"

_(3… 2…)_

He had declared what he had to in order to keep some of the dignity attached to his name; he could let it go now. Maybe, Galvatron was right; this was the best place in the world where to lay and heal.

_(0… Stasis lock.)_

O

Megatron's body went limp and his arms, deprived of energy, gave up; his body fell to cover a part of the still frame of his second in command. His face slid awkwardly along the obsidian helmet and finally rested against his faceplate.

"Yes, you'll be always welcome, brother!" sniggered Galvatron, "By the way, I think your reputation of Mighty One among the mightiest, Slag Maker, fearless Decepticon warlord and nya nya nya is somehow… hum… tarnished! Mwah Mwah!"

He looked with satisfaction at the group of flyers who were staring at the scene with optics ready to bulge out of their optical casings. Even Cyclonus, usually indifferent and cold, made the face of a Transformer sentenced to jail at Gobotron detention centre. Skywarp was not even whining anymore, mouth-gapping open. At the far corner of the bay, Skyfire lowered his head, looking miserable.

_'I'm a genius!'_ Galvatron swelled with conceit, _'A genius and an artist!'_ he added, looking back at the berth. He swiftly readjusted the position of Megatron's face so that his lips were now pressed against Starscream's in a light kiss. _'No, I am simply the best, the most powerful! The-'_

He felt a fuse blowing up beneath his helmet. _'Bwah! Short circuits for short circuits…'_ That would not make any difference.

Ignoring the mechs around him, Galvatron sat slowly at the bottom of the berth and leant as comfy as possible his back against the metal. He crooked a nasty smile when he saw the surveillance camera was set on the berth and on him; the onlookers must have fallen from their seats at the first sight.

Gazing back at his surroundings, he smiled, but this time, there was an expression of bitterness at the corner of his lips.

"A brother willing to kill me once repaired… A heap of injured mechs gathered in a med bay with not enough medics to fix them. New battles to come… Explosions… Bombs… Many more Stalkers to smash and take apart… Mmm…" he whispered somehow ironically.

"Life's so nice at Base 0025"

**To be continued…**

* * *

Text revised on 2008/7/7


	18. Ch 18: Watch the Birdies

After a long period of brainstorming, here is chapter 18. The action takes place one week after the events quoted in chapter 17 and the side story, "The Death Wish." 

Many thanks to Maraluch for the beta reading work.

* * *

**Chapter 18: Interlude (1) – Watch the birdies**

**A.D. 2025, Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force, Medical Repair bay 32**

"I want to go… NOW!"

Ratchet abandoned his observation of the screen on his medical computer to glare at the whining Seeker. "Stop wriggling… You're going to break the berth," he dryly answered and came back to the verification of his patient's vitals. 

"You've been looking at that for more than an hour now!" grouched Starscream, hammering the surface of the berth with his fingers in a nervous rhythm. "And I've been on isolation for a whole week. I'm fine!"

"And three days ago, you were still unable to stand up by yourself because of a record lack of energy!" retorted the CMO, "You won't be allowed to waltz around the base until I'm sure you won't faint somewhere!"

Starscream pouted in the unique way that only he could and leaned back down on the berth. 

"I'm fine!" he stated and then smirked. He slowly raised one of his arms and caressed the panel embedded on his right wrist, "I'm pretty fine for a bot who got poisoned by a virus that can make him rust from the inside out. Well, if he's not killed before by his death wish, which is nothing but another virus pushing him to the edge of paranoia and insanity! Admit it- this a little too much for only one mech."

The CMO looked at him with this so Autobot-like expression of compassion. "Starscream… I understand what you feel. I-" 

"Then you understand that I want to seek comfort from the only mech who can give me his-" his words trailed, as he felt surprised to think of this feeling. "His love," he completed.

Although he was happy with this new turn in his relationship with Megatron, it was still hard for him to name it. Moreover he hadn't seen Megatron during the whole week he was assigned to his quarters and was beginning to wonder. He knew that the warlord had been seriously injured but had been allowed to leave the repair bay after two days of repair and rest. Starscream had rejoiced at the idea that Megatron would come, but the Decepticon leader hadn't showed up. After thoughtful consideration, he concluded that it was the warlord's pride which had kept him away and swore that his first visit, once out of the grasp of the medic, would be with Megatron. If the medic ever decided to let him go.

"Everything is back to normal. You're free to leave," declared Ratchet.

The Seeker sat up and then jumped out of the berth. "About time! So long, Autobot!" he said happily.

"Not that quick, Starscream!" declared the ambulance, standing on his way, "I have few things to tell you."

"What?" groaned the Seeker, puffing his chest to look a little frightening. Ratchet chuckled in response. Starscream understood that he had lost a great deal of his "terror of the sky" aura during the last few days and rounded his shoulders. "Primus! You're a true pain in the afterburners!" he whined.

"You're welcome. Anyway, I repeat that I want to see you every morning in this repair bay for an upgrade of the anti-virus and a check-up at 6:00 AM sharp." Ratchet stated. "Don't be late!"

"Yes, I know!" retorted Starscream, "And again, can't you do the upgrade remotely?"

"And again, no. The upgrade must be recorded physically on the disk," replied Ratchet with a growing annoyance, "Moreover, this treatment is quite intensive and I want to be sure that we can rescue you on time if your condition worsens. Therefore, I want to assign you a caretaker who will be by your side 'round the clock."

Starscream gaped at the medic, looking indignant. "Who do you think I am? A newly created sparkling! I refuse to be nursed!" he complained at the top of his screechy voice.

"And I thought that Megatron would be the most fit for this task," continued Ratchet, ignoring the protest. He smiled when he saw the change of expression on the Seeker's faceplate.

"That's an excellent idea!" cooed Starscream, wings quivering with a sudden excitement. "Yes! Yes! Megatron!"

"I already asked him but he unfortunately refused," added Ratchet, watching attentively as the flyer's face changing to a living portrait of fury. "I am now considering asking one of your wing mates to replace him."

"No. No! NO! It can't be," stuttered Starscream, shaking his head fitfully. "It must be Megatron. It can't be any other mech. I don't want any other Transformer but him!"

"Uh… Yes, I know. And that's why I am giving you a last chance to speak with him and convince him to be your caretaker."

"And I will convince him!" exclaimed Starscream. "Megatron will watch over me all day long!"

"Nice. I will give you-" Ratchet cut his sentence short, watching with bewilderment as Starscream escaped the repair bay in a split second. "-the position of Megatron in the base," he added and sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder if I don't prefer him when he is weak, silent and welded to his repair berth!"

He walked to the nearby command board and quickly typed a request on it. The schematics of a part of the base appeared, with a red point glowing on the right bottom-hand corner. He smirked and activated his com'link.

"Starscream, do you even know where you are running to?" he asked.

_(Find Megatron and convince him to be my caretaker!)_

"I rephrase my question. Do you know his position on the base?"

He heard Starscream's footsteps slowing down until the Seeker stopped.

_(Stop making fun of me, Autobot, and give me Megatron's co-ordinates!)_

Ratchet couldn't help but chuckle at the confusion of the Seeker.

"Since you asked so nicely. He is currently located on ramp 55. If you need a map, you can remotely access Teletran II and asked for guidance."

_(I know that already! Argh!)_

Starscream cut the COM'link with no warning. Ratchet shook his head disapprovingly. "That fly boy really lacks the slightest bit of manners," he grumbled before laughing. He took a seat and decided to allow himself a few minutes of relaxation. Tilting his head back to rest it on his chair, he happily smiled at the ceiling.

"Ah, Love… It's so refreshing to see it blossoming again in this dark base."

* * *

**Base 0025, human detention area**

Nerte entered a room which looked perfectly like the other cells she had been transferred to or kept in during the last week. Grey and impersonal like a prison or a military hospital, but looking so much more like home than the jails of the Empire of Salonia.

"Please walk to the window and have a seat there. You can speak through the communicator hanging on the wall. You're not allowed to stand up or touch the window during the interview," stated one of the soldiers guarding her. "Any breaking of the rules will result in the end of this discussion and the return to your quarters."

"I know," she replied, not looking at him. All her attention was focused on the man in his 60's, wearing the gloomy suit of a top officer of the Earth Resistance army and who was already seated on the other side of the window. The side of freedom.

She walked slowly to the designated area and sat there, smiling sadly at the man who replied the same way. Once the soldiers stepped back, leaving her some personal space, she took the phone hanging on the wall next to her.

"Hi, Mister Witwicky, I'm glad to see you again."

"Yes, me too, Nerte. I actually never thought that I would see you again," replied the man, his smile broadening. "We all thought that you were dead after we saw your plane disintegrating."

"Yes. I thought so as well," Nerte replied evasively. She bit her lips as a she tried to bite back a question that had tortured her for months. "How is your son, Daniel?"

Witwicky's smile faded a little as he showed some embarrassment. "He got married and is now assigned to Base 22."

It seemed that death was striking her a second time and she closed her eyes. The man she had once been engaged to had followed the same philosophy she did. Life must go on even if you are separated from the one you love. 

"Nerte?"

The voice of Spike Witwicky reached her, calling her back to the present. She wiped away a tear and looked at the man. "Why am I kept here? I had already said everything that I knew about the Empire of Salonia; their projects and the way they use Human and Cybertronian prisoners!" she breathed. "I am on your side but you treat me like an enemy."

"We're just following protocol…"

"What protocol?"

Witwicky sighed. "You're going through a series of tests because we need to make sure that the Empire of Salonia is not using you," he reluctantly explained, "and that you are who you claim to be…"

"That's stupid! I am who I claim to be!" Nerte's mechanical hand set against the glass forcefully and shook its surface. 

"Miss, step back!" warned one of the soldiers, ready to grab her. He came back to a standstill when Witwicky beckoned him to stand back.

"This is not stupid," he replied, looking at the mechanoid hand. "If the Salonian technicians were able to fix this on you, they might have fixed something else as well. This would explain why you have been traced in the city so easily."

Nerte's gaze fell on her artificial limb. "Fair enough. Do all the tests you need, but-" she said reluctantly and then peered at Witwicky, "please take into consideration everything I've said. And be prepared to fight the Empire on a new scale."

Spike Witwicky gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't worry about that. Optimus Prime has the file in hand and believe me, he will give it the attention it deserves."

* * *

**Base 0025, Optimus Prime's office**

Optimus Prime knew perfectly well each scene of the movie that he was watching and tried to count again the number of Insecticons which were visible. According to his reckoning, there were 12 Shrapnels, 9 Kickbacks and 6 Bombshells eating with a terrific appetite the panels of a room, somewhere in the lost area of the base. At four minutes and twelve seconds of the recording, the face of the real Shrapnel came closer to the camera lens.

"That's not nice to spy on us, Prime… Prime!" the Insecticon chuckled.

The movie went black once the Insecticon started to chew up the camera.

"This was taken yesterday, right?" he mumbled, "In the west area of the base, the one which is still abandoned."

"Yes. We traced them to the same perimeter this morning and they vanished. I guess they've moved in an area out of our reach."

"Unfortunately… I wonder what Shrapnel has in store for us. What does he want?"

"Nothing good, I guess, as multiplication of Insecticons has never meant a good thing," concluded Shockwave. "And as for the woman we have in custody? This Nerte Reignault… What do you plan to do?"

"We wait that the tests on her are completed. And I want to hear the opinions of the others in tomorrow's meeting. What she said is too serious... I can't make any decisions without hearing the other base commanders' point of view."

"Yes, we need to share the information... and the decisions," agreed the Cyclopean Transformer, "By the way, will your brother attend the meeting?"

Optimus Prime nodded a little. "Yes, Magnus will be there, but only for the meeting. It will be a one-day round trip. The radar of his base has spotted two new battalions of hostiles around Base 22. It seems there's a kind of shift in the ranks of the Stalkers..."

"I guess he's going to be asking us for some reinforcement troops," replied Shockwave. "This is not the best time to send troops outside; there's a shift around the admiral vessel stationed above our base..."

"Hmm... Something's happening in the Salonian ranks."

Shockwave stared at the truck Transformer as if he was reading an open book.

"You're still thinking about what the human said about the survivors of Cybertron's explosions... that they are kept prisoners by the Salonians and that some of the them are conditioned to fight under the Empire's banner and help conquer other planets," stated the purple Transformer.

Optimus Prime peered at him with a renewed attention. "How can I ignore this information?" he whispered. "I can't help thinking about it!"

"Thinking? Or torturing yourself with it?" sternly retorted Shockwave, "If I could give you some advice... Don't place too much hope on the potential survival of Elita-One. We need you to have your CPU fully focused on the survival of this base and your judgement totally impartial; not clouded by your feelings."

"Of course..." replied Optimus. Not really willing to put up a fight with the other commander, he preferred to choke back a remark about Shockwave's typical lack of emotion. 

"Perfect. And now if you allow me, I'm going to my quarters to prepare material for tomorrow's briefing."

Shockwave saluted Optimus and exited the office, leaving the large mech deep in his thoughts, wherein hid the silhouette of a femme Transformer.

* * *

**Base 0025, Departure ramp 55**

Megatron looked absent-minded at the waning sun and brought the energon cube to his lip component. He realized that it was empty when no liquid came forth.

"Time flies," he whispered.

He set the cube back to his side and sank again in contemplation of the reddish sky. 

O

_Five days before…_

"_Why did you insist on speaking with me? I have already told you what your repairs would find in me… I'm not made of out of delicate tin metal!" grumbled the warlord, his massive body occupying the frame of the repair bay's entrance._

"_That's not what I wanted to talk to you about. It's about Starscream; the disk… his sickness," replied Ratchet, "Please, come in and close the door__"_

_Megatron had always hated receiving orders but this time he complied without further protest. The door shut with an icy and sinister noise, matching perfectly the look of the two bots. Never before had the two__Autobots__ held an aura of such gloom._

"_I hope for your sake that your explanation is worth it__ Get to the point because my intent was to visit him when you summoned me__" he growled. His expression softened a little, "I heard that he was recovering slowly. I think my presence can help him," he added with a light smile. _

_Ratchet and Perceptor looked at each other as if they were debating which one would __take the floor__. After a long and silent __exchange of looks__, Perceptor stepped in front of Megatron._

"_Alright, I will get straight to the point… Starscream is affected by a virus__which boosts by 30 the intensity of his reactions__" explained Perceptor, "and you are the main trigger." _

_Seconds ticked by slowly, while the gazes of the scientist and the medic roamed over Megatron's form and stopped at his hips, still moulded in the same form as the so-important piece of his former gun mode. _

"_You Autobot MORONS!" the furious warlord shrieked. "Is this a slagging joke? Is that why you've called me in here!" _

_Ratchet and Perceptor shook their heads, as panicky as if Megatron's fusion canon was aimed at their CPU._

"_Of course not! Starscream's paranoia…His aggressiveness – both verbal and physical – and his treachery toward you or towards any other sentient creature is dictated by this viral program, included in the disk that he holds in his chest," explained Perceptor on his casual and even tone. "We don't understand yet how the virus works but it pushes Starscream to destroy. To destroy others, and in the absence of enemy; himself. But it seems that you are the main target and that your presence triggers the program."_

_Megatron stepped back and had to grip the edge of a table to keep his balance. Images of past disputes with his Second in Command popped into his data bank at the last words. _

"_This is what he meant by "death wish"… he tried to warn me," he whispered and then looked back at the duo, "Starscream knew he had this virus on him… He once told me!"_

_Perceptor stepped forward and shook his head negatively. "No, he doesn't know. The virus also includes a defence system which is able to delete some of his memories and disable some of his monitoring protocols to keep its activity hidden. Even if Starscream is able to discover something, the mere knowledge of this discovery will be erased or corrupted in his memory bank."_

_The warlord face fell, his spark clenching as this truth was revealed. "That's what happened after the Nightbird incident… I believed he had cheated on me but he had forgotten. His memory had been erased!" he murmured with a broken voice. _

"_Yes, it's possible that you have already witnessed this phenomenon," said Ratchet, nodding in agreement._

_"Can't you extract his spark and implant it in a new body?" Megatron asked. "Away from this disk?"_

_"We are not sure what would happen if we do that. Moreover, if we considered the chain reaction to his body when he removed the disk, a week ago... It's better to take no risk," replied Perceptor. "We need more data to work on."_

"_How long will it take?"_

"_We can't give any prognosis. Several months… maybe years until we find a way to disable the virus and make the necessary reprogramming."_

_Megatron lowered his gaze and hid his thoughts in silence. Onlookers might have believed that he had become indifferent to his surroundings and had forgotten any notion of the problem at hand. "What will happen to him if you succeed? The reprogramming… Will it change his personality?" he eventually asked._

_"No. He has been infected for too long. Removing the virus won't change his character but will get rid of his dangerous inclinations," replied Ratchet with a reassuring tone. "As for a total reset of his personality, we won't do it unless Starscream asks for it. And personally, I'm against this kind of practice." _

_Megatron looked up at Ratchet, his optics gleaming with a new hope. But the flash died away as a new thought came to his CPU. "But if I am the trigger activating the virus, that means I have to stay away from him!" he exclaimed. "I have to put the most amount of distance between him and myself."_

"_Yes and no. Our hypothesis is that once the trigger is out of his reach, Starscream will take it out on himself," replied Perceptor. "He will destroy himself. You have to stay by his side and try to handle his future outbursts."_

"_But he will suffer if I stay close to him!" retorted Megatron, discarding Ratchet's explanations with a movement of the hand. "You have to keep him in a secure area, where you can watch over him and protect him against himself until you find a cure."_

"_We've discussed this possibility but discarded it," replied Perceptor. "His chances of hurting himself might be lower than if you are by his side but… We're afraid that emotionally that will be a little too hard on him to **not** be with you."_

"_He will try to destroy himself as well if he stays by my side and I won't be able to stop him," spat back Megatron, stepping closer to the exit. "I won't be able to protect him. I… I have never been able to protect him!"_

"_Wait Megatron, you're drawing the wrong conclusion!" the medic exclaimed, walking to him until the flyer beckoned him to not step any further. "You're over reacting now… Please, sit down and let us explain a little further in detail how we can work together. You need time before making a final decision."_

"_I have made my final decision: I will stay away from Starscream," declared Megatron of a broken voice, "Until you cure him!" _

O

The warlord lowered his head and tried to convince himself again that he had made the right decision. There was no other solution but to wait until his "chosen one" was cured. Staying by his side would just prolong this latent war and see his hopes being destroyed by a confused Starscream. There was no other choice!

"Megatron! Ah, finally… I found you!"

The leader started at hearing his name and felt the immediate need to run away from the flyer who hailed him from the threshold of the ramp. An infantry of Stalkers couldn't have made him more terrified. That dark faceplate, those quivering wings and that puffed chassis... In other words, this Seeker in full seduction mode had something terribly intimidating going for him. Megatron could remember the countless occasions he had seen this same bewitching smirk, wondering what insane plot had blossomed in Starscream's processor. Today's smirk was different from the usual: neither calculated nor sarcastic. Just expecting and sweet. Megatron knew very well what Starscream expected from him and he suddenly didn't have the strength to refuse it.

"Megatron, we have to talk!" continued Starscream, his voice vibrating in its own unique way that was clearly his. Low, soft, almost echoing on itself. The silver mech contemplated the Seeker now that he had stopped in front of him; the smile had broadened, the wings were quivering with excitement. The warlord sighed at the thought of what he was about to put the younger flyer through. He was so beautiful and refined, a subtle mix of power and weakness. So desirable… the only Transformer he desired, but who couldn't belong to him. Not yet.

"Yes, we need to talk, Starscream…" he replied, standing up slowly as if it was walking to the gallows.

An exquisite peak in the Seeker's energy field answered his sentence, making him sigh and even step back.

"I was sad that you didn't come to see me during the last few days. I wanted to visit you as well, but I was locked in my quarters by the medical team. I'm glad that you have recovered from your injuries," explained the Seeker.

Everything in his way of speaking was totally out of character; the rhythm was slow and gentle and the tone, high-pitched but strangely soft. Once he had finished, Starscream smiled at Megatron and stepped even closer. Megatron looked at his brightly shining optics and had his question answered; Starscream was well aware of the Repair Bay incident and was in high spirits because of it.

"Megatron?" asked the flyer, gently touching his hand, his expectant gaze set on the optics of the silver mech.

"Stop it, Starscream!"

"Why?" asked the flyer when Megatron withdrew his hands.

"Look, I don't know what you heard from whoever, but you mustn't be mislead… Galvatron once again played one of his sickening games on me. You must not-"

"Nobody told me anything. I just heard you," purred Starscream, raising his head, offering his most sensual smile to the silver mech. Megatron couldn't repress a shiver at the sight of his slightly parted lips. His so kissable… sensual… full lips…

"Wh-What?" he asked in confusion. 

"I was conscious, Megatron. Not a long time, but long enough to feel the light brush of your fingers on my cheeks. I heard you and was surprised how much you cared about me," answered Starscream, optics glittering with passion. "Then, you entered stasis and your face came to rest against mine. That counts more than Galvatron's little game… although I thoroughly enjoyed it." 

Megatron was now backed against the wall, considering his subordinate with surprise, who was being more and more forward with him. "How come it pleases you that… well… I kissed you?" he asked, trying to ignore the sweet sensation of the blue fingers tracing the armature of his cockpit. "You never showed me anything other than loathing and hatred."

"It pleases me because I know that it wasn't the first time that we kissed," replied Starscream, taking advantage of the larger mech's unease to lean against him and snake an arm around his waist. "I remember what happened after the other Decepticons beat me to death… that you confessed your feelings for me."

Megatron squirmed and then found the strength to push the Seeker back.

"Oh! You remember… suddenly!" he scoffed. "You forgot what I said and just humiliated me and trampled on my feelings!" Megatron looked harshly at the ashamed Seeker. "Be proud of yourself. No one in the Universe had ever put me in such misery."

"That was the virus. My memory… it was all gone the following day," whined the flyer. "I swear I was sincere when you asked me to choose between war and peace. I chose you and you chose me. I also told you about the Death Wish although I couldn't grasp myself what it was about." The blue hands clamped at dark ebony wrists while their gazes locked. "All my memory of that moment vanished," Starscream whispered sadly. "And after… when you asked me to share my secret, I didn't understand what it was about. I believed that you were my creator's murderer and that unveiling such knowledge would put me in danger of termination at your hands. Therefore, I replied that I had lied to you, because I thought it was the only way to protect myself."

Megatron stared at him with a bitter expression but didn't know what to answer. Slowly, Ratchet and Perceptor's words made more sense and he regretted his hasty conclusions.

"I know that I have hurt you," Starscream murmured, caressing lightly Megatron's ribs panels. "I was out of control. I would have never done that if I had been myself!"

"That's the problem, Starscream. You are poisoned against me and whatever you're trying to do, you will finally turn against me," replied Megatron, pushing him back more firmly. "That's not your fault but you won't be able to fight it."

"But Ratchet and Perceptor… They're working on an anti-virus, and-"

"They don't know what to search for. They admitted as much. Starscream, it might take years to cure you!" retorted Megatron, pushing him again. "For your sake. For my sake and the sake of the other's, let's keep away from each other. That way you won't be enraged or endanger yourself."

"No. I need you," Starscream murmured. He stepped back, shaking his head in pure denial. "I can't heal without you."

"Oh, yes, you can. Quicker than if I was here by your side and you saw me as an enemy," replied Megatron, "And… I will wait for you."

"No! I need you… NOW!" Starscream threw himself forward so hard that Megatron was thrust against the back wall. "No, no! You can't abandon me like this!" he sobbed. "Remember what you said back then?"

"I said that… I would protect you and that it would be a new era for you and me, but-" Megatron replied, pushing back once again Starscream. "The problem is that I can't protect you against yourself. Whatever we try, you will come to raise your weapons against me!"

"You're wrong! If that was so, the medics would have never asked you to be my caretaker!" objected Starscream, suppressing a sob. 

Megatron let out a sigh as he saw the obvious signs of despair that the flyer couldn't hide anymore.

"Those medics are fools!" he retorted. "Believe me, you will feel better if we keep our distances!" Tired of the argument, he walked away.

O

Starscream felt like his spark was shrinking in its casing. It was pounding and hurting, making his circuits burn and his frame tremble. He wanted to cry with sadness and rage, tear that oppressive feeling out of his chest. For the entire week, the idea that he would be reunited with Megatron had given the strength to heal and a reason to hope. Watching his dreams being reduced to ashes so quickly was too much to handle. 

Suddenly, he felt it: the strange heat was growing from the left of his chest, where the disk was encased. In a matter of seconds, his energon was running quicker in his pipes and the idea that simple words were not enough to convince Megatron grew in his mind.

The anger was back.

"And you think you can turn your back on me so easily?" he growled, "You won't go away and leave me alone, you old rust can! You belong to me!" 

O

Megatron felt the heat of the null ray when it grazed his right shoulder vent. He turned around and couldn't suppress a smirk when he saw that the Seeker was aiming his rifles at him.

"See what I meant when I said that you would always end up with your weapons aimed at me?" he chuckled, "I know it's not your fault. But you can't fight it."

Starscream's expression turned to deep confusion and he lowered his two rifles.

"I… I didn't mean… I-" he stuttered.

Megatron felt sorry for him when his Air Commander shivered and gave out a cry. There were many feelings in this cry: pain, hurt, fear, and frustration. And yet, rage.

"You have to leave, Starscream. Go back to your quarters before you further lose control," he said as softly as he could.

The flyer peered at him with an expression beyond sadness. Megatron trembled, as he understood that something terribly wrong was about to happen. 

"I can't fight it without you, Megatron!" Starscream breathed, "And if I can't fight it, I don't want to live like this any longer!"

Before Megatron could say a word or even move, Starscream ignited his thrusters and took off in a deafening roar. It didn't take Megatron long to understand what the Seeker was trying to do. Feeling anger and an incredible fear, he turned on his own thrusters, leaving the ground below him. 

"Come back here, you little fool!" he shrieked at the top of this voice, "You're going to make a target of yourself for the Stalkers!"

"Perfect! I want to be shot down! I want this to end!"

Starscream's hysterical voice reached him, muffled by the wheezing of their engines but distinct enough to relay the deep despair which had overcome him. Megatron knew that Starscream was serious in his attempt and didn't hesitate any longer. Without decelerating, he aimed at the flyer and fired. The fusion blast grazed the left wing, not enough to damage it but enough to destabilize Starscream and slow his course.

"You little… stupid… emotional… fool!" he growled when reaching the panicky Seeker. He caught Starscream by a wrist and pulled him forcefully to him. The Seeker's body banged against his own body and threw him into an unbalanced tilt, but after a few seconds of confusion Megatron managed to regain his balance. The problem was not solved yet as they were still gaining altitude thanks to their combined propulsion.

"Megatron?" the Seeker whispered, totally confused.

The larger flyer growled in frustration when he tried to reverse his thrusters and stop their ascension, to no avail. "Starscream, cut your thrusters!" Megatron shrieked.

"No! I can't live like this anymore."

Ignoring the uncontrolled sobs and shivers of the Seeker, Megatron caught his chin and forced him to look at him. "Cut your thrusters now!" he growled, "Or you're going to kill us both!"

Their course halted with a brutal crush of gravitational force as Starscream switched off his thrusters. Megatron tightened his grip around the back and waist of his lieutenant. Starscream's shivers sent him back too many years, to that day he had declared to the same shivering Seeker that he cared so much about him.

"Why don't you let me die?" Starcream asked, stuttering. "You don't want me anymore…"

"Wrong! I love you more than I should, idiot!" Megatron muttered. "And now, shut up and hold me tight!"

Starscream buried his face in his leader's chest and gripped his back and shoulders as tightly as could. Once he was sure his Seeker was secured against him, Megatron swooped down, keeping one of his fusion canons aimed at small black points, hovering in the far background in the East.

Their descent took a good minute until Megatron's radar warned him that the ground was dangerously close. He flipped over and tried to negotiate a landing but lamely tumbled down on the tarmac, Starscream on top of him. He remained sprawled on the ground for a few moments, holding the dazed flyer tightly in his arms. Once his motor functions recovered from the shock, he came back to a sitting position, keeping Starscream in a tight embrace.

"You… really… leave me…on my own?" asked the younger Transformer with a sob.

Megatron felt his spark splitting in two when he saw the dim expression of his flyer. His final decision appeared crystal clear as he totally sank into those two lakes of despair.

"No… Can't leave you unattended, my little fool," he whispered and managed a pale smirk. "Definitely… I won't let you fail me again, Starscream." 

Megatron lowered his head and gently brushed his lips against the Seeker's. Starscream remained unresponsive for a moment until he realized what was happening. He clanged forward eagerly at the larger mech and leaned further into the tight embrace, welcoming his lover with a soft moan.

O

"Ooh, isn't that sweet!" cooed Galvatron, imitating the high-pitched voice of an Earthling female. His hands, joined close to his face, came slowly to rest along his side and tightened to a fist. "Love promises. Big words. Romance. And bla-bla-bla," he snorted with an expression of disgust, "Primus! That twit is turning my brother into a softy!"

"Lord Galvatron, don't you think we should leave them to their privacy?"

Galvatron glared at his Second in Command so harshly that Cyclonus warily stepped back. 

"Cyclonus, I already told you. The privacy of others is something to be spied upon and exploited!" His face took on a devilish expression. "There is nothing better to use as blackmail or to get certain mechs to spill their guts! Mwaahah!" he chuckled.

"Uh… Yes, mighty Galvatron."

"Now, stop bothering me with your crappy objections and go check the owner of those yellow optics spying on them." The purple mech pointed at the far corner of the departure ramp; two yellow lights were glowing from behind a pile of Jet spare parts. 

"At your command, mighty Galvatron!"

Galvatron ignored his lieutenant and put his attention back on the entwined couple. Totally oblivious of their surroundings, Starscream and Megatron were lost in each other's arms and their lips locked in a feverish kiss.

"Fifteen minutes, lovebirds. I allow you fifteen minutes and then you will have to grant me some of your time," he mumbled. "We have a list of suspects to compile."

**To be continued…**


	19. Ch 19: About desires

Thanks a lot to all the readers who left me a review for previous chapters, and really sorry for the delayed update. I planned to publish the chapter earlier but my new life (a new job in a new city) kept me busy and away from writing new chapters.

Also, my beta is slower than hell. Send hate mail to: Maraluch (last bit inserted by Maraluch herself).

I hope you will enjoy this new chapter.

Warning: slash scene.

* * *

**Chapter 19: Interlude 2 - About desires**

**A.D. 2025, Base number 0025 of the Earth Resistance Force - ****Departure ramp 55**

Starscream was totally lost in a sea of silver metal and his only wish was to disappear in its swirls. The same hands that had brought so much suffering to his frame were gently smoothing down his metal skin: one down his cheek, the other caressing his waist and hips. The touch of Megatron's lips over his lip component and the sensation of the warlord's glossa playing with his own had always been a part of his wildest dreams. Now, it was reality!

Megatron was the first to break the kiss, drawing a moan of protest from Starscream. The silver flyer peered at him, still caressing a cheek.

"Don't attempt to take your life, Starscream," he warned in a solemn voice, "Never again… I won't allow it."

"I- I thought I could control myself," stuttered the Seeker. "But I couldn't. When you said we had to keep away from each other, my life-" Starscream reached Megatron's hand on his cheek and squeezed it lightly. "My life seemed so dark… didn't seem worth living…"

"I wouldn't have stayed away for long, just the time for you to be cured," replied Megatron, kissing him lightly, "That's not important anymore. I am with you and I won't leave you for a second!"

Starscream welcomed with a moan of satisfaction a new fevered kiss and sank into the bliss of Megatron's embrace. A dark thought emerged in his CPU and he shivered at the frightening outcome it lead to.

"I'm going to lose my memory… again," he whispered once he reluctantly broke the kiss, "memories about us… our moments… I hope I won't but… I'm sure I will. Don't… let me down… please! Don't abandon me!"

Megatron's caught his chin and planted a kiss on his lips. "Don't worry. I am going to make sure you never forget what a good kisser and passionate lover I am!" he chuckled. "And if you forget, I'll properly remind you."

"You'll remind-?"

Starscream's question died in his vocal processor when Megatron firmly pressed his lips against his. He lost any idea of protest when their glossa started to dance in a love ballet and when one of Megatron's hands reached his right wing it ignited the fire of a forgotten desire. He reached one of Megatron's majestic wings and caressed a node, loving the way the warlord shuddered, both in surprise and pleasure. Once again Megatron pulled away and stared at him with an expression of shock. The smile that graced Starscream's lips faded away when the red gaze burnt him with radiant lust Slowly, their lips met again while their bodies pressed against each other and their energy fields equalized on the same frequency. The Seeker clasped at his lover, leaving just enough space for Megatron's hand to trace his cockpit and then caress the cool metal down to his hips. Their energy fields flared when the hand stopped on Starscream's codpiece and shifted a panel, unveiling a part of the Seeker's most intimate system.

A soft moan escaped the Seeker when the dark hand teased the delicate electronic components with gentle care and evident skill. He had given up this unique pleasure for years and feeling it again with Megatron made him melt into a pool of desire. Spark pulsing hard in his chest, Starscream quickly lost the trail of his thoughts and allowed the initiation of the interface program.

O

There was a little voice in the depth of his CPU that told Megatron he shouldn't act this way, so exposed to the gaze of whoever had the idea to barge in on this launch pad, but he totally ignored it. The Decepticon warlord gave way to the impetuous gladiator he had been millions of years ago, indifferent to the opinion of others as long as he found pleasure. He had never been so aroused since he had discovered the intimate practices of his young Air Commander thanks to a prank of Skywarp. It had been a shock when he had felt his body quivering at the sight of the Seeker pleasuring himself in the darkness of an ion shower. The shock had been greatest once in possession of the record, he had discovered that Starscream had a twisted crush on him.

Nothing had been the same since: every time he looked at his Air Commander, it was not the potential heir to the Decepticon's throne he saw, but a desirable mate, a spark to conquer. The more Starscream showed hostility toward him and proved to be a cruel and treacherous, irrational megalomaniac, the more Megatron desired him. Starscream appeared to be the only sentient creature twisted enough to match his own addiction for conquest and power.

The fact that Starscream refused him didn't help; Megatron loved difficult conquests. His recharge times had been filled with impure dreams in which he ravished the uncooperative Seeker and violated the unfaithful spark. Life had been deprived of sensuality however, punctuated by the quarrels and betrayals of Starscream. Cries and shots in the back, disillusions and harsh words. The Seeker had even brought him to his knees, although he had hidden these rare moments from his soldiers.

But now, the untouchable Seeker was his, shuddering with pleasure, tilting back his head and moaning softly his name. Starscream belonged to him and better, craved him. Megatron reached the point of no return when Starscream's energy field flared a way that left no doubt about his disposition.

"Hmm... Megatron! Ah…"

Starscream's optics flickered uncontrollably and he buried his face in Megatron's neck. His hands clutched the broad silver wings, allowing Megatron to feel this special pleasure, tainted with pain, irradiating from the over-sensitized area. The silver Transformer was no longer able to process coherent thoughts when the Seeker started to kiss and gently bite the cables offered to his hungry mouth. Megatron shut off his optics in pure bliss and whimpered softly. Yes, the world could collapse around them; he didn't care anymore. As long as he could be one with his beloved flyer. Megatron slid his hand along his midsection and reached for his own codpiece, ready to uncover the panel hiding his own interface system.

O

"Hey, you two! Don't you know that interfacing is prohibited in a public area? Mwaahaah!"

The screechy voice echoed in Starscream's audios and froze him on the spot. Megatron tensed up against him and switched on his optics. The magic of the moment totally faded away when Starscream made out the purple robot who was leering at them with a mocking expression in his optics.

Megatron's optics twitched in momentary fright and then upon recognition he groaned at his brother. "Go away, you fraggin idiot!"

O

Galvatron's smirk widened when he watched the two mechs readjusting their positions and finally stood up with embarrassment. Megatron set a protective hand on the waist of his Seeker and drew him close, discretely sliding the panel of his red codpiece back in place. Starscream peeped up at him, looking lost between shame and arousal while his energy field flared like a torch. _'Eh Eh brother. You never __waste__ time when it comes to that sport!'_ the purple Transformer chuckled inwardly. To his greatest amusement, one of the fusion canons targeted him while Megatron's expression turned to complete fury.

"My, my- getting angry? Embarrassed to be caught while molesting your pet?" sniggered Galvatron. He took exquisite pleasure when the two other mechs looked daggers at him. "Back in the old days you were screwing apprentices up and down the halls of the arena, hmm?"

"Shut up! I don't know what you are talking about!" shrieked Megatron, losing his composure as Starscream threw him a questioning look, "What do you want, you glitch?!"

"Oh, me?" cooed Galvatron, looking up and brushing his head as if he was searching the reason deep in his CPU. "Ah… Yes! I remember that you promised to kill me last time we saw one another," he teased with a knowing look. "Waited a whole week and you didn't come!"

Megatron looked soundly upset by such nonsense and sighed heavily. "Go and slag yourself!" he replied with a tone of despair as he lowered his canon.

Galvatron smiled devilishly, enjoying how easy his brother was playing along with his picking. Discussing an important matter like the one he had in mind didn't mean he couldn't enjoy himself beforehand.

"No! That's not funny. And I leave suicide to the others," he replied and then pointed at Starscream, "like your pet!"

"I'm not a pet!" hissed Starscream. He tried to leap against the purple Transformer but Megatron secured his grip around his waist, keeping him close. "I didn't… try to kill myself," he added, trying to be convincing.

"Oh, yes, you did," Galvatron replied and then chuckled darkly. "And a little advice. It's _only_ because you're the new addition to the family that you're allowed to raise your voice against me…"

He didn't try to hide a mocking smile when the Seeker quivered at the frightening tone. The angry expression of Megatron was priceless, however. "My turn to give you advice, Galvatron. YOU don't speak to Starscream in this manner!" retorted Megatron, pointing at his brother with an aggressive finger. "And now, state what you want!"

"You mean other than driving you crazy?" Galvatron chuckled when he heard Megatron's growl of annoyance, "Hmm… Maybe have a brain storming session with you. Review the different suspects who might have tried to set up the three of us…"

Galvatron knew that the time for teasing his brother was over as Megatron's optics reduced to a slit.

"You have some suspects in mind?" asked Megatron, jaws clenched. "I hope for your sake this is not a new trick of yours…"

"I have… and I think you have too. We'd better crosscheck our lists," purred Galvatron, "and make sure they are not among the survivors of our race," he added.

He smirked when Starscream peered at him with an angry look. As for Megatron, he clenched his fist and gave out a sinister growl. "Where can we have this discussion?" he asked.

Galvatron chuckled and smiled at his brother. "Follow me…"

O

Cyclonus felt very uneasy witnessing the two Transformers getting closer and more intimate by the second. It was their private life after all, and on that point, he quite disagreed with the behaviour of Galvatron. But his leader was his leader and shouldn't be contradicted, although Cyclonus often wondered why he was still serving such an insane megalomaniac.

The purple shuttle focused again on the spy; as far as he could see, the robot was the slender type and his armour was a dark grey. The unwanted guest was kneeling behind a pile of Jets' parts, watching with close attention the three Transformers now that Galvatron had interrupted the two lover's games. Disappointed, the spy stood up and remained unmoving, still hidden by the scrapped parts. Cyclonus decided it was time to confront the other voyeur and walked silently to his target. Once he stood behind the grey robot, he set his rifle against the dark helmet.

"You'd better follow me without protest or attempt to escape," he whispered, "Beware, I'm not patient!"

A strong kick in his mid-section sent him flying a few meters back before he could process what happened. Cyclonus landed harshly on the ground with a cry of surprise. He quickly overcame the mild pain in his back and torso, trying to get on his feet but froze when a sharp blade grazed his throat.

"You?" he exclaimed and glared at the cold yellow optics of his adversary. "Nightbird, what are you doing here!"

As way of answering, the femme withdrew her blade and stepped back, allowing the Transformer to stand up. Cyclonus groaned with annoyance when no answer came and he picked his riffle with an upset gesture.

"Nightbird! Answer my question," he warned, "I know that Ratchet upgraded you with a vocal processor." Glaring at the insolent femme, he pointed his riffle at her and tensed when she cocked her head to the right, glaring back with a mocking look, "I repeat, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to pay a visit to two old friends, but-" Nightbird shifted her gaze to the three Transformers who were leaving the launch pad and then focused on Cyclonus, "first they were busy and secondly, your dear boss has just taken them away."

"You think I'm going to accept that?"

The earthling robot gave out a light chuckle. "Honestly? I don't care…" she replied, "And now, excuse me but I have other business to attend."

"Hey! Wait-!"

Cyclonus stood on Nightbird's way in order to stop her but the Ninja robot had no intention of cooperating. She didn't try to avoid him neither and their shoulders collided with a loud clang. The two machines glared at each other while their armour screeched in protest. Finally, Nightbird jumped aside so that Cyclonus couldn't catch her.

"You're not quick enough!" she purred, walking to the exit keeping him in her optics. "Have some training and we'll see if you can catch me…"

Cyclonus kept his jaw clenched and his rifle targeted on her until she exited the launch pad. Once the entry gate shut, he nervously activated his COM'link.

_(Yes, Rodimus Prime in. What's going on, Cyclonus?)_

"Refresh my memory. Nightbird is under your responsibility, isn't she?" Cyclonus asked.

_(Affirmative. Why?)_

"Where is she supposed to be now?"

_(I sent her __to__ the unexplored part of the base. She's a member of the team chasing the Insecticons.)_

"Then I suggest you check her position again," chuckled Cyclonus. "I caught her less than five minutes ago, spying on Starscream and Megatron. And it was not in the forbidden area."

_(Oh, crap! I hope she's not trying to take revenge __on__ Starscream. He once shot her in the back…)_

"I'll keep an eye on Starscream and Megatron. And Galvatron is with them; I doubt she'll try anything for the time being. Anyway, try to do something on your side!"

_(Don't worry. I'll catch up with her and remind her __of__ the on-going mission. Update within an hour. Rodimus out!)_

Cyclonus grimaced. "You'd better learn to keep your subordinates under control, Rodimus! If I had her under my guidance, I swear she would learn to respect hierarchy!" The last words of the Ninja robot came up in his CPU together with the pain in his shoulder, where the parts had grazed Nightbird's armour. He touched his shoulder with a hand and allowed himself to pronounce a word he loathed.

"Bitch!"

* * *

**Ruins of Tokyo**

"Here it is, Soundwave!"

The navy blue flyer approached the pile of smashed concrete and broken wood pointed out by Rumble.

"Are you sure? There is nothing but ruins in there," replied Soundwave.

"I'm sure! Nerte had hidden her bike – the Fenril – in there. We came here to pick it up when a Stalker attacked us!" asserted Rumble, jumping up and down. "The bastard flattened the area but I'm sure the Fenril hasn't been destroyed."

"Then, I suppose we have to dig it out."

Soundwave kneeled in front of the wreckage and closely inspected the area. He finally grabbed a rock and pushed it aside.

"Hey, I'm going to help you!" generously offered Rumble, too happy to have an occasion of assisting his master. Being shorter, he worked on the smaller parts of wood and concrete, hiding the fact that he had difficulty with some of them.

"It's okay Rumble. I can handle this by my-self," replied Soundwave, "And I won't be angry or leave you for not helping me."

The little Cassetticon threw him a vibrant look and shook his head. "No! No! I wanna help you!" he retorted.

Soundwave smiled inwardly at the evident display of affection from his Cassetticon. He didn't say a word but threw away a big rock, knowing that Rumble would have tried to prove his dedication by grabbing it. "Take the smaller items only!" he warned.

"Yes! Thank you!" the little bot replied, unable to suppress a big smile of happiness.

o

"I would have done anything to have the Constructicons here!" grumbled Skywarp, hovering in the cloudy sky by the side of Thundercracker. He grimaced with an expression of disgust, "I can't believe I miss those pieces of scrapped metal!" he added, shaking his head.

Thundercracker chuckled at his wing mate and set back his attention on Soundwave. "I'm surprised he put his face mask back on. He has no more reasons to hide himself. Everybody saw his face!"

"Yeah, maybe he doesn't like his face?" wondered Skywarp, cocking his head on his side. "That's stupid! He's quite handsome."

"Hey, you two loudmouths, either you stay in the air or you help us!" shrieked the Cassetticon at them as he threw away a block of concrete.

"Hey, loudmouth yourself! Mind your own business!" barked Skywarp loudly and he turned to Thundercracker, "What a pity a Stalker didn't crush the little squirt during last battle!"

"Oh, come on! You would have missed him!"

"Missed him? Yuk!"

Thundercracker chuckled at the pouting expression of his fellow flyer and initiated his descent. Skywarp mumbled a last "geeky loser" at Rumble and promptly landed by the side of the blue Seeker.

o

For once in a very long time, Soundwave felt happy. There was no other word to describe his state of mind than happiness. The presence of Rumble and his bickering with Skywarp reminded him of "the good old days" when life was all about killing Autobots and conquering the Universe under the Decepticon banner. He was the third in command of the Decepticon army, surrounded by his little family, which could fit in his chest. Not this awkward flyer caught in the middle of a war between an obscure Empire and the surviving Humans and Cybertronians.

"Watch out!" he warned his Casseticon when a block of concrete threatened to fall on him. Unfortunately, the little bot was not fast enough to move and Soundwave had to extend a protective hand over the small body to prevent Rumble being flattened.

"Oh, so cute!" mocked Skywarp.

Soundwave was used to the nasty remarks Skywarp tossed his way and reacted as was his custom; he glared coldly at him, which made Skywarp's smirk grow wider. He felt even better as much as his irritation toward the dark Seeker increased. '_Yes… just like the good old days!"_

"Comment: unwanted," he replied, as he normally would.

"Yeah! You stupid! Come on and fight if you dare!" growled Rumble, emerging from Soundwave's hand.

"Oh yeah, you geeky freak! Wanna fight?" replied equally Skywarp, tensing up.

_(Skyfire to Alpha team. Do you copy?)_

The solemn tone of the shuttle Transformer distracted Soundwave from this minor incident and he looked upward, imitated by the three other bots. They caught the shape of Skyfire, in shuttle mode, circling some hundred meters above their position.

"What's going on?" inquired Thundercracker.

_(Stalkers spotted close to your position.)_

"What's the ETA?"

Soundwave's optics flashed with a bit of surprise when he heard the blue Seeker inquiring the Autobot shuttle with assurance. As far as he remembered, Thundercracker had never been the leader-type of Decepticon but rather a delusional soldier doubting his place in the army and at the same time, his own existence. But now that he read his mind, Soundwave found no trace of doubt. Thundercracker felt at ease in the current conflict, certainly because it didn't imply Transformers slaying each other.

_(Between 20 and 25 minutes. Thirteen units. You should hurry.)_

"Coming from… what direction?" inquired Thundercracker. "Skyfire?"

_(Northwest… I'll update in five minutes.)_

Skyfire cut the COM'link, leaving the four Transformers in complete silence. He completed a nervous U-turn and changed into his robot mode, hovering far above them.

"Whoa! That guy is tense," commented Rumble, struggling with a big rock.

"I would say… dark or… depressed," corrected Skywarp and he grinned wickedly, "Who wouldn't be a mess after he lost Goddess-of-love-Starscream… Uh?"

"Warp'!" warned Thundercracker, "Keep digging into this pile of concrete! We have to find the Fenril within thirty minutes!"

"That doesn't mean we have to do it in a gloomy atmosphere!" retorted Skywarp. "This place is already creepy enough. And I am interested in knowing what's going on between Megatron and Starscream." He raised his arms to the sky in a theatrical manner. "Primus, TC... they kissed!"

"I would rather say that Galvatron had his unconscious brother kiss an unconscious Seeker…"

"Come on. You saw Starscream when we visited him yesterday. The guy is in love!" he cackled and then grinned wickedly, "IN LOVE!! And he's such a love sick dork!"

"Warp', do me a favor; shut up and dig!" replied Thundercracker, shaking his head with annoyance.

"Spoilsport!" The purple Seeker shifted his attention to Soundwave. "I'm sure you know many things about them!" he threw on a teasing tone.

"Wrong statement… I know nothing."

"Come on, Soundwave!" exclaimed Skywarp, "You can read minds. You, better than anybody else can tell what is really going on in Megatron and Starscream's relationship. What they feel for each other…"

"Difficult."

"Oh please! Stop playing games and give up your old speech patterns!"

The flyer glared at the loudmouth Seeker and stopped his excavation work. "You're right. I should have said 'Complex, difficult and evolutional relationship' instead."

Skywarp threw a rock away with brute force. "You're not telling us anything we don't already know!" he protested.

"Why, is there something else?" Soundwave replied on his cold tone.

"Yeah! You're hiding the truth!" retorted Skywarp, digging one of his hands in a pile of metal and wooden scrap.

Soundwave stared at him as if Skywarp had shot him mortally. Hiding the truth, it was exactly what he had been doing for millions of years.

o

_Every time Soundwave saw the Decepticon leader walking to his direction, he got the terrible image of what would happen if his real identity was uncovered; his destruction. Megatron had been the one who had ordered the elimination of his clan and didn't hide his eagerness to find the surviving High Guards and kill them all. _

_Soundwave didn't blame the Slag Maker for this but rather cursed his former leader for his bad choices; insulting publicly the leader of a rising violent army wasn't the choice he would have made if he had been the First in Command instead of Datamaster. Moreover, he had truly admired Megatron from the first time he penetrated the mind of the warlord during a meeting between the Decepticons and the High Guards of the Scientific Council. The concept "Peace through Tyranny" seemed deeply insane and blasphemous to a Neutral's point of view, but digging a little more in Megatron's logic system, he had marvelled at the implacable logic behind this. Megatron believed in his concept and was truly able to apply it to Cybertron. From this time, Soundwave – alias Mindtwister – decided that he would become a Decepticon. The task was not easy; as second in command of Datamaster, he was on the list of the prime targets of Megatron. It had become easier after the bombing of the Headquarter by the Decepticon forces and his disappearance. After a substantial change of his hardware parts and energy field manager system components, he had stood in front Megatron, introducing himself as Soundwave, an obscure member of an equally obscure Decepticon faction. The warlord had looked at him suspiciously first and then granted his whole trust when Soundwave proved to be a deadly efficient mind reader and manipulator. _

_This story, Soundwave was used to replay__ing__ it every time Megatron showed up in the battalion of spies and system hackers that the Cassette Deck was leading. But that day, his attention was focused on the young Seeker walking by __Megatron's side__. He knew that the warlord was attached to the flyer, partly because he was the heir of the Seekers' faction but also for personal reasons. Now that he saw him, he perfectly understood the personal reasons; Primus, the Seeker was a true masterpiece! That was not a usual habit for Soundwave to __openly__gape__ at another Transformer but he let his gaze __roam__ over the slender form. Legs, torso, and wings… everything was heavenly proportioned and there was no adjective to describe the beauty of the dark faceplate. Soundwave felt his inner circuitry vibrate with desire when the Seeker stopped in front of him._

"_Soundwave, I think I already __spoke of__ my new recruit… Starscream," said Megatron, oblivious of the very lustful thoughts of the Communication Officer. "I think you'll have many occasions to work with him. I am expecting full cooperation from you."_

_Soundwave thanked Primus for having his mask and hiding his smile that blossomed at those words. "At your command, Megatron," he replied on a monotonous tone. _

"_Excellent!" Megatron turned to Starscream and smiled plainly. To Soundwave's surprise, his mental barrier faded away, leaving an access to his most intimate thoughts. 'I'm proud of you. You're an excellent warrior and thanks to my coaching, you will become an exceptional leader. You're the heir of the Decepticon army. My Heir!' _

_The warlord patted gently a red shoulder vent. "Time for training, Starscream! We return to my quarters!" he declared and then turned to Soundwave. His soft expression disappeared, replaced by a slight irritation. "By the way Soundwave, have your spies found the body of Mindtwister?" he inquired._

_Soundwave flinched a little at the name. His real name. "No, but I'm sure we're going to find it shortly. Nevertheless, I think we can consider him as dead," he replied._

"_I hope you're right!" Megatron set a hand on Starscream's back and guided him to the exit. The Seeker complied without a word, but Soundwave could read his mind like an open book. Starscream's admiration and respect __of__ the warlord was unlimited and blind, almost touching. 'So young, so vulnerable,' Soundwave __mused__, already plotting a way to get the Seeker's attention._

o

"Soundwave? Hey?!"

The flyer looked at the purple Seeker and realized that he had been absent-minded for a few seconds. Thundercracker and Rumble were also peering at him while carrying on the excavation.

"I was lost in my thoughts," he replied, digging a hand in a pile of concrete.

"Lost in what…? The fact that you refused to tell us about Starscream and Megatron's relationship, uh?" cooed Skywarp.

"Their relationship is not our business. It's their lives."

"Wrong; it's our business!" retorted the purple Seeker. "They've fought each others for millions of years with us around or on the middle of their cross-fire. We have the right to know!"

Soundwave sighed heavily, as he reflected that Skywarp's arguments were legitimate.

"At first, there was respect and filial attachment between them," he spoke. "Megatron considered Starscream as a son, the heir of the Decepticon Army. Starscream admired him and considered him as a father, a figure to bless him…"

o

_The Seeker was hiding in the shadows of the hallway, holding a data pad to his chest. Megatron, oblivious of his presence, guided a femme in his quarters and closed the door behind them. Soundwave was a little shocked by what he read in the mind of the delusional Seeker: jealousy, sadness but also desire and love. Starscream craved Megatron's attention and was deeply hurt by the knowledge he couldn't get __it__. But this __emotio__n was for Soundwave an opportunity to __latch onto__._

_He patiently waited __until__ Starscream came to the Officer Command Room. The Seeker entered, looking gloomy and depressed, and paid no attention to him… as usual._

_Several__ minutes later Starscream threw him a suspicious look when Soundwave set an energon cube in front of him._

"_What… are you doing?"_

"_You look tired. I thought you needed some energy," __Soundwave stated coldly__. _

"_Tired? Hmm, maybe," mumbled the Seeker. He took a mouthful of the liquid and looked confused. "Thank you," he added._

"_You're welcome."_

_Soundwave returned to his seat, pretending to ignore the Seeker. Starscream absorbed himself in a new battle plan and forgot the energon cube, which was not helping Soundwave at all. He had planned to drug the Seeker and bring him back to his own quarters. Not that he expected Starscream would play along easily but with softness and attention – what Starscream needed – he was confident in his success. But as he reviewed the current thoughts of the Seeker, he innately understood that it was not in Soundwave's quarters that the young Air Commander would end up. Once he had finished his work, Starscream got up and set the almost untouched energon cube on Soundwave's desk._

"_Thank you for your care, but I think I'm going to recharge. This energon is a little too strong for me," he apologized._

_Soundwave felt deeply irritated but showed none of his disappointment while he watched the beautiful creature walking to the exit. 'Young fool. You really think that __finding and sleeping with the__ first Transformer you __come across that has a__ silver paint job will __console __you from not getting into Megatron's berth?! I could sooth away your pain, Starscream, if only you could forget him and move on!'_

o

"Slowly, Starscream's feelings turned to fascination and addiction, desire and hidden love toward Megatron," completed Soundwave. "And this twisted love has never changed."

"Yeah! I knew that already," exclaimed Skywarp, "I remember the day I took a movie of Starscream having his fun in an ion shower and shrieking Megatron's name. And that's exactly what intrigues me!" The black Seeker threw a block of concrete away and shook his head. "Starscream is such a masochist sometimes! He says that he hates Megatron but dreams of sleeping with him. And when he has the opportunity to get into his berth, he just screws it up!

"This paradox is the bottle-neck of their relationship," agreed Thundercracker. "When Megatron summoned us, he explained that Starscream was kind of overworked and had tried to attack him. But when we started to work with Starscream, we understood that he hated Megatron. Then Skywarp came up with this movie… and after that I just stopped trying to understand Starscream. "

"The guy is twisted!" groaned Rumble. "That's all. Why try to find excuses or get into his messed-up CPU? And don't forget; he once tried to kill us all without a second thought!"

The four Transformers went silent for a few minutes, digging the ruins with a decreasing enthusiasm. Thanks to his mental capacities, Soundwave had no difficulty reading the minds of the two Seekers. Both Thundercracker and Skywarp were replaying various memory files about their lives with Starscream; there were sorrows and regrets. Resentment also: Starscream had never apologized for the Archeville incident.

"Starscream came to hate Megatron because he believed that our leader betrayed him," Soundwave completed, conscious that he was already saying too much.

o

_Soundwave scrutinized with great attention the warlord leaning over the still body of Starscream. Once again, __the warlord's mental__ defences were down as he was under the shock of the murder attempt by Starscream. Between denial and deception, Megatron was trying to understand his eventual mistakes toward the Seeker and find reasons__ for__ this behaviour. __Starscream's energy field__ flared as he regained consciousness but the Seeker remained still and unmoving, restrained by the cables of the medical equipments and dazed by the anaesthetics he had received. For the second time, Soundwave got the image of Starscream talking with a purple Transformer, looking like Megatron, who informed him that Megatron was the murderer of Shootingstar. Soundwave grinned behind his mask as he considered the perfect opportunity to get definitely the Seeker for him and him only. The point was just to offer no opportunity __for__ Megatron to justify himself about the assassination of Starscream's creator. _

_"You say there is nothing dysfunctional with him, Soundwave? Is this a joke? One of my most loyal officers tried suddenly to kill me after trashing his quarters, and you tell me he's completely normal?!" __seethed__ Megatron._

_"I repeat, Megatron. Tests show all his systems are functioning normally. Processor just overheating. Might be the consequence of strong pressure which couldn't be handled by his logic system..."_

_"In other words, Soundwave?" growled Megatron, annoyed. _

_"Nervous breakdown. He's quite young for his position, after all." _

_Megatron shot him a resentful glance. "I chose him because I knew he was perfectly able to handle the position of Air Commander. And I trained him for this. There must be something else, search deeper! And call me when he's awake and able to speak." _

_The silver Tyrant left, abandoning Starscream to Soundwave. Once he __was sure Megatron was away, t__he cassette deck leaned forward and set tentatively a hand over Starscream's cheek, tracing the dark line to the so kissable lips. _

"_Don't… touch me, you… Megatron… __Kiss-aft__!"_

_It was a merely audible hiss, but the amount of venom in the screechy voice was enough to force Soundwave to withdraw his hand. 'I hate you!' was the mental message he got before Starscream shut down. _

o

"What is this about?" exclaimed Skywarp, "What betrayal? Starscream never talked about this!"

"He never talked with us seriously, Warp," corrected Thundercracker, "He kept all of it to himself, even if it was driving him crazy. I don't think he had any confidence in us either."

"Yeah, the guy is a freak!" added Rumble and he turned to Soundwave, who had resumed his silent digging, "And what was the reason for Starscream to try and kill Megatron? What was the betrayal?"

Soundwave remained silent for a few seconds while he tried to sort out the reasons for telling the truth after so many years of lies. He reached the same conclusions he had gotten for many years; it was too late and Megatron would certainly kill him for what he had done. He threw a look at Rumble and wondered what his Cassetticons would do if he really disappeared.

"I don't know."

**To be continued…**


	20. Ch 20: Ghosts of the past

Soundwave remained silent few seconds while he tried to sort out the reasons for telling the truth

Thanks a lot to everyone who read and/or reviewed previous chapters. I know that many of you have been surprised or shocked by Soundwave's feelings. Here are some more explanations.

And a big thanks to Maraluch for her very efficient support!

* * *

**Chapter 20: Interlude (3): Ghosts of the Past**

**Ruins of Tokyo**

Soundwave remained silent for a moment while he tried to sort out the reasons for telling the truth. As usual, he decided to lie: he had precious few things left he considered worth protecting but was sure to lose them if Megatron learned of his manipulation and betrayal.

"I don't know."

"Oh! You don't know?" scoffed Skywarp, crossing his arms on his chest. Thundercracker shook his head in the face of such uncooperative behaviour but was ignored by the purple Seeker. "You read minds! I can't believe you don't understand Screamer's reasons for hating Megatron!"

"I don't read minds that well…"

"You're kidding! You get into Transformers' brain chamber so easily… You always knew of my attempts to prank you even before I could finalize them!" growled Skywarp. "You're just a-"

The Seeker paused in his tirade when he saw a rock rolling at his feet, hitting it with an unnerving clang. He peered angrily at the short but proud author of this provocation.

"You don't understand, 'Warp," mocked Rumble, standing warily close to one of Soundwave's feet. "Soundy can remotely access some brain chambers… the feeblest ones… You know! Those with a glitch..."

Skywarp gave a growl of annoyance and looked daggers at the Cassetticon who hid behind Soundwave's foot. "Glitch yourself!" he growled in a threatening tone.

"Warp'! I can't believe you'd waste time with such stupid trifles while we're on a mission," Thundercracker groaned, digging with more impatience, as he understood that his wing mate was not exactly going to be helpful. "Within twenty minutes now, we're going to face a dozen of Stalkers and you-!"

"Hey, I'm not forgetting the Stalkers, TC. It's just that I wanna get some explanations!" snapped back the purple and black Jet while scratching with annoyance the wreck in front of him. He peered at Soundwave. "If you don't know the reason behind Starscream's behaviour, do you at least know why Megatron tolerates his betrayals? I mean… Megatron would have killed anybody else for less than what 'Screamer has done over the centuries!"

Soundwave looked away from his interrogator and forced himself to continue digging despite the scene that played on his memory bank.

O

_Soundwave had not chosen to witness this new dispute between Megatron and Starscream, he just happened to be there when it started. Starscream had virulently criticized the warlord, displaying a rare verbal violence. A behaviour that had become a daily problem as the Seeker was prone to uncontrollable and unpredictable fits of anger toward anybody unfortunate enough to cross his path. This constant anger had made it impossible for Soundwave to get closer to Starscream. Worse, his frequent incursions into the Seeker's mind had led him to question the mental stability of the young Air Commander. _

_That day, Megatron's retort came quickly as he stood from his throne, leapt at the Seeker and pinned him against the wall. Soundwave silently quivered with jealousy toward the warlord and then was petrified by the thoughts of the two mechs. He could only read irrationality, anger, and a total lack of control towards emotions. _

_Starscream's optics flickered with hot ire and his body quivered with desire. In a wild mix of feeling, the Seeker craved revenge as well as physical attention. But what stunned Soundwave the most was the chaos in Megatron's mind. His mental defences were gone and his perfect logic utterly destroyed. Engines and machinery wheezing with anger, the Decepticon leader was fighting his attraction toward the Seeker. He was revolted by this feeling and wanted to crush the traitor once and for all. But he could not; because deep within him he longed to take a kiss from those curled lips and made this chiselled body his possession. Have the Seeker scream his name like in the scene that played insistently in his memory bank. _

_Primus, did he even realize that their position against the wall was erotic? Megatron's body was pressed against Starscream's frame, his right hand tightened firmly around the dark throat and his left hand pressed against the Seeker's waist. Starscream was clawing at the deadly grip with an expression of fear mixed with arousal. Fright took the upper hand when the grip tightened dangerously and metal snapped. Relieved to arouse fear in his rebellious Seeker and fit his image of the Slag Maker, Megatron enjoyed the power and the domination. He smirked cruelly when the Jet looked up pleadingly and then he threw him away with an angry growl. _

_Starscream landed unceremoniously on his aft with a cry of indignation and peered angrily up at his commander. The expression on his face suddenly changed and his lips outlined a smile. Provocative. Teasing… and sensual. It was not clearly formulated but… he wanted more. Soundwave read with disgust that the idea of being ravished on the floor of the brig was far from frightening to Starscream. And Megatron himself was considering the idea with a mix of desire and disgust._

"_That's enough! I'm sending you to the battlefront!" shrieked Megatron, regaining some of his self-control. "You won't come back here until you prove to be loyal!"_

"_No! NO! You can't exile me again!" protested the flyer as he crawled to Megatron's feet and clung to his legs. "I'm too valuable for you!"_

"_You're the most worthless lieutenant that I have ever had!"_

"_You know you need me!"_

_Megatron looked down at Starscream and locked his gaze with the red optics. Once again, Soundwave read chaos in the warlord's mind. The Seeker was disgusting when he humiliated himself like this. And he was delicious when he was so submissive._

_The cassette deck withdrew in the darkness of the hallway and left the two antagonists to continue their bickering. He leaned over the wall and allowed himself a moment of deep reflection. So, was that what it was to be in love with Starscream? Being the slave of his emotions and feelings like Megatron, being caught up in each one of his bright red looks and sexy smirks, each of his venomous words that his beautiful lips spilled with an insane joy? Being… dominated? It was exactly what he wanted to avoid in a relationship. He wanted to dominate- not be dominated by the other. He had hopped that the young and naïve Seeker would be the perfect match but the sweet creature had turned out to be an uncontrollable demon. There was nothing but pain to be expected from a relationship with Starscream._

"_Silence, you fool!"_

_The shriek of Megatron came with the blast of his fusion cannon. Looking back at the scene Soundwave saw the red, white and blue frame swaying and then falling onto the floor where it lay still. The tyrant sighed and quickly left, not willing to give in to any more temptation. He wanted the Seeker, but not that way._

_Sneaking a last glance at the unconscious Transformer, Soundwave felt nothing. No attraction, just a feeling of waste. He decided that it was safer to stay away from the young Air Commander and left, leaving Starscream to the silence of the launch pad, his loneliness and his exile to the battlefront._

_O_

"Megatron discovered that Starscream had a crush on him and despite his efforts to resist, he realized he was attracted to the Seeker. However, Starscream also had a desire for revenge. The vicious circle of taunting and bickering started," added Soundwave.

"Oh, and you pretended that you know nothing, hmm?" cooed Skywarp with a knowing look. "Isn't that news?"

"Warp! Shut up! Nobody cares!" interrupted Thundercracker angrily. "At least, not now."

"I care!" Skywarp threw a last "humph" to his wing mate and refocused on Soundwave. "And now, dare to pretend that you never read Megatron's thoughts about Starscream?"

O

_Soundwave watched coldly as the other Decepticons inflicting a deadly adjustment to Starscream's behavior. The once-beautiful Seeker was already reduced to a pulp of energon; a scrapped conglomerate of bleeding metal. He didn't want to take part in such a degrading punishment but was not willing to stop it either. This was Megatron's will – at last! – and Starscream had gone too far after all. His once heated feelings towards the Seeker were dead for quite some time. All that was left was his bitter impression of waste. Starscream was wasting his life, Megatron's life and the time of the Decepticon Army._

_Speaking of Megatron, Soundwave felt that his will to get rid of Starscream was not as strong as he believed when he detected the warlord's tormented thoughts, coming from behind the door. The Decepticon leader hadn't gone far. Soundwave heard with no surprise the door sliding open and the heavy footstep approaching the lynching scene. _

"_That's enough! I'm going to finish the traitor myself so that he properly learns his lesson!" he stated._

_There were protests among the Decepticons, especially from the Triple Changers, but they stopped when the fusion cannon pointed in their direction. Astrotrain quickly withdrew his foot from Starscream's shattered cockpit and stepped aside. Megatron ordered an evacuation of the room and was obeyed without further protests. Knowing what Megatron had in mind, Soundwave quickly recalled his Cassettes and was the first to exit. He sincerely hoped that Starscream would unveil his secret to Megatron. Soundwave knew that he, himself, could never dare explain it to Megatron. He had once lied because he coveted the Seeker and now knew that Megatron would never forgive such an offence. Keeping his lies a secret was a question of survival._

_O_

"Megatron always hid his feelings for Starscream because he thought they wouldn't be returned. I only understood that there was a twisted relationship between the two," justified Soundwave.

"And?"

"Warp'! You're so boring," growled Thundercracker.

"No, YOU, you're boring!" snapped back the purple Jet, frowning at him, "Soundwave is telling us important truths about Starscream and Megatron, and you, you're thinking only about the Stalkers."

Thundercracker looked at him and shook his head with disbelief. "I don't understand why you can't grasp the situation is critical! Warp', within twenty minutes from now we'll have to face dozens of Stalkers. I think that your curiosity is misplaced… wrong time, wrong place!" He sighed heavily. "Primus, Warp', be of some help and dig!" he added pleadingly.

The purple Seeker puffed his chest and looked outraged. He ignored Soundwave who had resumed his digging during this altercation and peered at Thundercracker.

"Oh, you want me to dig, like I was a Constructicon. Very well, _**boss**_! I'm digging!" he replied, while he thrust his hands angrily in the conglomerate of concrete. "How many credits do you bet it's me who's going to find the Salonian bike, hmm?"

"Now is not the time to bet!"

A strong whizzing sound reached their audios from the northern direction as a reminder of the deadly threat ready to swoop down on them. The four Transformers tensed, forgetting in a second the previous topic of conversation to focus on the task at hand.

_(Skyfire to Alpha Team. ETA: 12 minutes!)_ warned the shuttle above them.

None of the Transformers on the ground replied to the warning; they frenetically increased the rhythm of their digging, sending concrete and other debris flying around them. Skywarp was the more frantic, struggling like a mad bot to clear the blocks out of the area. After the few minutes of indulging in gossip had he finally regained some seriousness? Thundercracker hoped it was the case as he could already trace on his radar the enemy's presence. He knew that Skywarp had been slightly shaken by the latest battle and was trying to fight his apprehension by joking and bragging, but he hoped that his wing mate could keep his focus for a little longer.

"Oh! There's something beneath!" suddenly exclaimed the purple and black jet when his finger tugged at a metallic surface.

He removed another metal and concrete plate and waved at his comrades. "And he pretends that I'm not working!" he mumbled. "Come and see Daddy Warp'!"

The rest of the group immediately came to help him. Skywarp pulled with all his might on the object and landed on his aft when the wreckage released its prey.

"Got you!" he exclaimed proudly, seizing his reward by the handle. He took some time to observe the vehicle, shaped like a human bike and frowned when panels started to shift on the black body. "Hey, was it supposed to transform?" he exclaimed.

"Skywarp, get away! It has a gun!" shrieked Thundercracker.

"Huh?"

The purple Jet gulped when he made out a cylindrical object rising at optic range and realized that the bike had turned into a bipedal robot and was perched on him.

"Wow! Wow! Calm down, buddy! We came here in peace to retrieve you!" he stuttered.

The optics on the masked face flickered erratically while the weapon set against Skywarp's head gave out the characteristic noise of a gun loading.

"Oh! No… NO! **NO!**"

"Warp out of here, idiot!"

Skywarp started at Thundercracker's warning yell and initialized a warp in panic. A few seconds later, he found himself seated on the ground some ten metres away from the place he previously was, and watched his wing mate mercilessly pinned the small black robot to the ground. Soundwave caught the thrashing legs and forced them to remain still. A discharge of null rays and the belligerent bike-transforming robot came to a stand still.

"Skyfire, we found our prize! You can come and pick him up!"

_(It's about time! ETA with Stalkers: 5 minutes!)_

The white Transformer came back to their location in his shuttle mode and swooped down to their position. In less than a minute he was ready to accept the little robot aboard. Soundwave picked up the body and placed him in the cargo area, ordering Rumble to embark with it as well as carry a weapon fully loaded in case of further trouble. Excited by this new occasion to help his master, Rumble trotted along inside, waving happily at Soundwave.

The three Decepticons followed the shape of Skyfire as the shuttle reached altitude and they fled towards the base.

"And now… the Stalkers!" exclaimed Skywarp, banging his fists.

Thundercracker shook his head negatively. "We're leaving Warp', no need to fight if we can avoid the confrontation."

"But, there's three of us! We can teach a lesson to one or two of them! They-"

"There are a dozen Stalkers flying in our direction, not just one or two. Solution advised: retreat," completed Soundwave. The navy-blue Jet jumped in the air and switched to his alternate-mode. Without further comment he engaged his thrusters and headed in the same direction as Skyfire.

"Let's do the same now, Warp," said Thundercracker, setting a hand on his wing mate shoulder vents. "I hate to admit it but we're no match for them."

O

Skywarp nodded silently and watched him transform into his Jet mode. He threw a last glance at the place and at the black shapes heading hurriedly toward them. Waiting on them and engaging in a fight seemed suddenly a bad idea to him as he was reminded of some close calls in the last battle. He switched to his F-15 form and pushed his thrusters to maximum. He warped out far away when he detected that two Stalkers were on his tail.

* * *

**Base 0025, near the platform 55**

"Take a seat!"

Galvatron pointed nonchalantly at the bench on the opposite side of the table. He sat at the first seat he found, just next to the door. Megatron's gaze roamed over the empty place. The meeting room was like the rest of the base: dark, simple and impersonal. It possessed nothing to disturb him although he regretted the lack of Decepticon's emblem on the walls. His gaze fell on Starscream and he almost smiled as he felt the persistent interferences on his energy field. He walked closer to him and set his hand on the slim waist, guiding him gently to the bench. His lips outlined a smile when in response to a reassuring bolt of electricity, Starscream replied on a frequency reflecting his arousal.

O

Galvatron would have openly laughed but held back. Megatron wouldn't have appreciated it for sure and it was time to get down to business.

"So, dear brother. Who's at the top of the list of suspects?" he asked.

"I suggest you tell us," retorted Megatron. "I'm curious to see who you're going to accuse first. And what your logic behind the accusation will be."

"Mwaah! That's good. Very good," he smirked lowly. Raising his voice to a dramatic pitch he offered, "At the top of the list is your Communication Officer, Soundwave!"

Galvatron chuckled when Megatron's fist smashed into the metal of the table, making Starscream twitch.

"I warn you Galvatron. I haven't come here to listen to your nonsense!" boomed the elder brother while leaning forward. His optics reduced to slits and the tone of his voice decreased to a low and dangerous growl. "Besides, I don't appreciate you accusing one of my most trusted lieutenants!" he added, his voice threatening.

The purple robot leaned forward to match the position of his brother.

"Have you ever seen the face of your trusted lieutenant?" he purred. "Did you know he's a High-Guard?"

"Nonsense, again!" Megatron hissed, optics flickering with anger.

"So, you have never seen his face, have you?" chuckled Galvatron. He smiled when Megatron replied negatively and caught his glance once more. "I saw him when I brought you to the repair bay. He was unmasked… I recognize the features of a High Guard officer!"

"He's a Decepticon! His energy field cannot lie!" retorted Megatron.

"High Guards were virtuoso of Communication, computerized systems and electromagnetic technologies! Soundwave might have fooled you easily!"

Megatron shook his head once again, but his expression betrayed his growing doubt. "He didn't know you! He didn't know Shootingstar!" he exclaimed and then glanced at the Seeker who sat besides him. "He didn't even know Starscream before I introduced them!"

Galvatron leaned back in his seat and nodded slightly. "Okay, you have a point there brother. I didn't know him before being put in stasis… But if I were you, I would investigate exactly what he's slagging doing with a High Guard's faceplate behind his mask!" he stated.

"I know what I have to do, mind your own business," retorted Megatron, glaring angrily at his younger brother. "If it's a question of my own private circle, I would rather accuse Shockwave."

"Mwah! Single Optic? Forget him!" sniggered the purple 'Con. "That idiot is so loyal to you that he would rather shoot his own sparkcasing than disobey you! So unnerving." Galvatron smiled devilishly at the silver Transformer and started to scratch nervously his armrest. "I actually have another suspect, but it goes back to the old days."

"Stop talking in riddles and get to the point!"

"Remember Prima Destroyer?"

Megatron cocked his head on the side while a sly smile appeared on his features. "How could I forget him and the way we punished him?" he chuckled.

"Who is Prima Destroyer?" interrupted Starscream, obviously lost.

"Prima Destroyer was a gladiator, a rival of our creator," replied the silver Transformer. "Prima killed him during a single combat in the arena. We were devastated by the loss of our creator and we swore to avenge him!"

"Yes! I still remind how we did it!" sniggered Galvatron, "How we ripped out his main energon line, shredded his legs and split open his cerebro-chamber…" He smiled in awe as he replayed the scene. "Ha! His energon was all over the place, staining our own bodies. Oh! Did I mention how we blew up his-?"

"Enough!" decreed Megatron as Starscream's expression turned to a mix of confusion and disgust. "We tore him apart, leaving him no chance of survival. It's why I don't think Prima Destroyer set us up," he explained, patting a blue hand gently.

The Seeker stared at him, taken aback by this kind attention. Galvatron choked back a mocking laugh, not fast enough though to escape an angry glare.

"You forget, brother, that Prima was bonded to a femme, who gave him an heir," retorted Galvatron. "We never considered this as we were young and inexperienced, but we shouldn't have left them alive. I guess they didn't hold us very dear to their sparks after they recovered Prima in spare parts."

"Hmm…" Megatron brushed his cheek nervously, "That makes sense… I've never thought about that possibility, but it's believable. Do you know what happened to them after Prima's demise?" he asked.

"They disappeared. I've already researched them but found no trace of Prima's bond mate and son." Galvatron nodded with satisfaction. "You can't find more obvious suspects, hmm?"

"We can actually. And it brings us back to our youth…" stated Megatron, looking thoughtful.

"Who?"

"Darkracer."

Galvatron burst into insane laughter as if the name was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard. He stopped as awkwardly as he had started and banged his fist against the surface of the table, looking angry. "Nonsense!"

O

"Who is Darkracer?" asked Starscream, confused by Galvatron's reaction. Honestly, he didn't understand the purple mech at all. His constant changes in mood made it hard to say what kind of mech he really was. The type with few marbles lost, certainly.

"A dead Transformer!" declared Galvatron, shaking his head. "Primus! It's impossible she could have survived!"

"It's possible. Believe me, I experienced it and-"

"Who is Darkracer!?" asked again Starscream, his voice betraying his impatience.

The two brothers exchanged an annoyed look.

"She was… a femme… quite an intriguing little creature," explained Megatron, suddenly uneasy. "She showed up at the time we were just starting to organize the Decepticons into an armed faction. She… seduced Galvatron and then-"

"Then I discovered she was assiduously visiting Megatron's berth behind my back! And this nitwit didn't suspect anything!" exclaimed the purple Transformer, glaring at his brother. "After that, the bitch managed to set us against each other as love rivals…"

"Until we realized that she was trying to take over the Decepticons while we were busy fighting over her beautiful optics…" completed Megatron.

Starscream felt a tug at his spark as he imagined the silver warrior holding the femme in his arms. Turning a radiant gaze to Megatron, he puffed his chest, arched his back and formed his most radiant cocky smile, trying to be as seductive as possible. This Darkracer might be only a ghost of Megatron's past but he felt in direct competition with her.

This display of seduction and jealousy was immediately rewarded by a light kiss as Megatron bent over him.

"Nothing serious… It was just a mistake of my youth," the warlord assured.

"Argh! You're ridiculous!" groaned Galvatron. "Don't tell me you're so easily led! Not again!" He sighed in annoyance and started to hammer a rhythm on the surface of the table with his fingertips but was ignored.

"What happened then?" Starscream breathed, claiming Megatron's lips for a deeper kiss.

"You two are so pathetic… almost sickening!"

Galvatron could rant as much as he wanted; it didn't matter to Starscream. Unfortunately, Megatron was more sensitive concerning his brother's sniggers.

"We… confronted her," whispered Megatron as he finally broke the kiss. "We trapped her in a steelwork and threw her in a smelting pit."

"Oh, dear! What a tragic death…" Starscream smiled openly at the terrible end of this rival.

"That's why it cannot be her!" exclaimed Galvatron with irritation. "She's dead! Nobody can survive the heat of a smelting pit!"

"Survival is possible!" retorted Megatron. His hand came over to caress Starscream's cheek while he peered at him with a bitter expression. "Remember when we fell in a pool of lava near the Ark?"(1)

Starscream replayed briefly some scenes of his awful experience. He remembered the lasers of the Autobots, the fall, the heat melting the metal of his skin and eating his circuits, his systems shutting down one by one, and then the darkness. He had awakened a week later, repaired and recharged, with no idea of how he had landed in the Constructicons' repair bay.

"I agree. It's possible to survive the smelting pit if you have somebody to help you out," he murmured, caressing the hands that touched his cheek as he suddenly understood just who had fished him out the sea of lava.

"And she had sidekicks among the Decepticons," agreed Megatron. To Starscream's disappointment, the caress on his cheek stopped as Megatron leaned back into his seat and regained some composure. "We killed some of them but not all. They vanished within the depths of Cybertron without leaving a trace."

"Well, well… that stands up," agreed reluctantly Galvatron. "But I think that the lead on Prima Destroyer is more believable."

An important point was still missing in all those conjectures.

"But that still doesn't explain why I have been set up. I don't know this Prima Destroyer or the femme… this Darkracer. I was not even assembled when it happened! Don't you think it might be an Autobot who did it, to destroy the Decepticons from the inside?"

"That's not an Autobot!" Galvatron waved his hand as if he chased the mere concept away. "The plot was too subtle. Those stupid Autobots are not perverse enough to come up with such a deadly and tortured scheme."

"I agree. Only a Decepticon or a Transformer with a Decepticon way of thinking could have done this!" completed Megatron.

"That's not telling me why I have been involved!" cut Starscream impatiently. "Your hypothesis doesn't explain that point!"

"I guess I made it too obvious that I've chosen you as the Heir of the Decepticons," replied Megatron. "You've been set up because I made the mistake of showing that I care for you."

* * *

**Base 0025, somewhere in the Forgotten Area**

The square-shaped spy robot trotted along the gas pipe until he faced a grid. A panel shifted on his flank, releasing gun-like equipment. Using it as a torch welder, the metal creature worked on the grid, unsoldering it from the walls. After a few minutes, the grid fell on the ground of the hallway with a clang, allowing the Salonian spy to exit the pipe. It had only trotted forward a few steps when a large hand grabbed his small body and held him up to optics range.

"Yum, looks tasty!" the larger mech declared, his two optical sensors sparkling with delight.

The small spy was suddenly brought to the mouth of the Transformer, and before it could activate a distress beacon, it was crushed between strong jaws.

O

"Still hungry… hungry?"

Kickback peeped at his fellow Insecticon and grinned.

"Those little Salonian spies are delicious, Shrapnel! A pity that there are no more of them…" he regretted.

"This is the right place to trap them… them."

"I see. It's for that they come. It's what the Empire of Salonia is seeking, isn't it?" asked Kickback, pointing at the circular sarcophagus that occupied the far end corner.

In a few strong jumps, the grasshopper Transformer landed before the alien object and looked through the stained glass of the cover with curious optics. A long black shape was perfectly visible inside.

"So it is because of this thing that the Empire doesn't blow up this base," he asked, brushing his chin thoughtfully.

"I guess it is… it is! They want to retrieve it… retrieve it!"

In few jumps, Shrapnel joined Kickback and hung from the ceiling, above the sarcophagus. He looked down and cocked his head to his side, as it enabled him a better view at the contents.

"All the Salonian spies come toward this area… area. I guess they gather information about the topography and search for a way to retrieve this thing… thing," he stated. "I don't see other explanation… explanation."

"What do you think it is?"

"A Salonian being of importance, I guess… I guess."

"And what do we do with this thing?" Kickback pressed his face against the glass and powered his infrared. His visual system reported back to him a black and angular body, of Salonian constitution. "It's not moving… Do you think it is dead?" He suddenly looked up with an expectant look. "And… do you think it's edible?"

His antennas trembled a little when Shrapnel's energy field fed back his annoyance.

"I think it's in stasis… stasis. And we're not going to eat it… eat it! We're going to trade it to Optimus Prime and the others in exchange for true recognition of the Insecticons… Insecticons!"

Shrapnel chuckled and was soon mirrored by Kickback.

"And if they refuse?" the grasshopper asked.

"Well… Well… We, and our Insecticon army, will trade this to the Empire of Salonia… Salonia."

The two Insecticons exchanged a knowing look and then let out a sinister cackle of joy.

**To be continued…**

* * *

NOTA BENE: (1) Reference to Heavy Metal War, the last episode of Season 1.


	21. Ch 21: Before the Storm

Hunted Species reached its two-year anniversary this month, 100 Reviews, and almost 20,000 hits. This is an occasion for me, as the author, to thank the readers who read and appreciate this fiction. Thanks for your tremendous support!

This was the good news. And now, the bad news…

My beta reader, Maraluch, won't be able to edit my fictions during an indeterminate period. This chapter is not entirely edited, but I decided to publish it to avoid a too long delay. Anyway, I am now in search of another beta reader who can help me during in the meantime. If you are confident in your English skills (good command in grammar and spell checking very welcome), and feel motivated by this task, feel free to contact me by PM or e-mail.

And now, the show goes on…

Warning: Megatron x Starscream slash scene.

Edit July 28: thanks to Krystalmaze for editing the end of this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 21: Interlude – Before the storm**

**Base 0025, near the platform 55**

The three mechs were silent, each of them trying to sort out the intricate details of their brainstorming. Each suspect had a particular profile and personal reasons to take on Megatron and Galvatron – except maybe Soundwave. The truth would be hard to find.

Galvatron yawned noisily and stirred a little. He then looked at his two interrogators and chuckled at the feverish state of the Seeker. "I don't think we're going to find a solution tonight," he declared. "And anyway, I'm bored. I'm going back to my quarters."

The purple mech stood up and without a glance at the other two he exited from the room. Megatron watched him walking away with an upset look, while Starscream couldn't hide his surprise at his offhand manner.

After a few metres the purple Decepticon stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Be at Meeting Room Kappa tomorrow morning. 8:30 AM sharp. Bring your pet."

Megatron frowned in response. "For what?" he hissed.

"A little gathering… You will find it instructive." The warlord chuckled and resumed his walk, now ignoring the two flyers. He was already out of sight when Megatron yelled at him.

"Don't count on it! I'm not one of your pawns and I don't take orders from you!"

An echo carried a light chuckle back.

"Oh, by the way, don't be too noisy with your pet tonight! You know, these walls are not well soundproofed…"

"Idiot!"

No reply came this time. Galvatron was too far away, or perhaps had decided to hold back his sarcasm.

Megatron cursed other insults in Cybertronian and looked back at Starscream. The Seeker peered back at him, silent and expecting. He was obviously tormented by a thought, which Megatron could easily read in his optics. He forgot Galvatron, he had a more important task at hand.

"We should also leave."

"So… Are you going to meet with Soundwave, Megatron?"

Starscream's voice was almost pleading. Megatron briefly weighed the pros and cons of not visiting his third in command. Galvatron's remark had disturbed him, and deep within him he didn't want to know the truth. At least, not tonight.

He stood up slowly and walked to the door, followed by Starscream. The hallway was dark and a dim light was flickering at the threshold. His gaze fell on the form of the flyer and he admired the play of light and shadows on his body.

"No. I will meet him tomorrow. It's too late now."

"So you're going back to your quarters," ventured Starscream, scratching a panel with his right foot. "And I- I'm going back to mine." He looked up and threw him a vibrant look. "Aren't we?"

Megatron couldn't resist touching such softness. He stepped close and snaked a hand around Starscream's slim waist. The Seeker came gently to lean against his body, energy field flaring with arousal.

"I don't think it's safe to leave you alone. I'd be more at ease if you would stay with me, in my quarters. I'm your caretaker, after all."

Starscream smiled seductively and sealed his acceptance with a kiss.

* * *

**Base 0025, human detention area**

Nerte couldn't sleep. The conversation with Spike Witwicky and the news about Daniel had sent her into a state close to depression. She had tried to push away her dark thoughts, but they continuously came back, eating minutes after minutes of what was left of her hope.

'_I've messed up my life… I've never been able to do something right. I'm just a loser…'_

She felt a lump squeezing her throat and held back a sob. She curled up and hid her face in her arms, wishing she could go back to her early youth, when she still had a future. The time when she was still a human, not this thing between a woman and a drone. She was on the verge of crying when the door of her cell opened with a screech.

"Sorry to disturb you, Nerte, but we need you for identification."

_The voice of Witwicky!_ She looked up, trying to hide her dim expression. Witwicky certainly noticed her tears but said nothing. He gave her a comforting smile instead.

"We want to make sure that we've found Fenril…"

* * *

**Base 0025, somewhere nearby the Forbidden Area**

Nightbird sped up, well aware that she was in breach of military law of the base. She had superseded the orders of Rodimus Prime, and worst of all, had been caught by a Senior Officer on her spying. She had few doubts about Cyclonus' reaction; he had given her away to her leader. She had to find a way to cover herself.

Her hopes crashed when a door slid open on the familiar face of a red car Transformer. Rodimus Prime glared at her and crossed his arms on his chest, deliberately blocking her way.

"May I know what you are doing here?" he coldly asked.

She had to lie. That was her only way to cover her real intent. "I was chasing a Salonian spy in the hallways. I've already told you, they're everywhere."

"And your shoulder? Is it the spy who did that to you?"

Nightbird peeped at the bump that deformed her right shoulder.

"Yes, of course!"

"That just tops it all!" scoffed a male voice. "I'm a Salonian spy now?"

The ninja femme watched with surprise and worry as Cyclonus emerged from the other side of the hallway. How had he managed to follow her without raising her suspicion?

"Cyclonus, it's okay. I'm taking care of the problem." Rodimus Prime replied. "The situation is under control now!" he added with conviction.

"Under control, my after-burners!" Cyclonus hissed and then glared at the femme. "Why were you spying on Megatron and Starscream while you were supposedly on a mission?"

Nightbird felt her oil boiling when the Decepticon looked at her threateningly. '_Decepticons, all the same!'_ This feeling increased when Rodimus Prime looked helplessly at Cyclonus, as if it was to calm him down. _'Autobots, so useless and insipid!'_ she cursed.

"Nightbird, it would help if you-"

"If I say the truth!?" she shrieked in response. "Oh, you want to know why I was spying. Fair enough!" She looked at the two mechs with a defiant expression. "I want them to apologize to me for what they have done to me!" she rasped.

Cyclonus and Rodimus Prime stared at her blankly.

"You're kidding?" asked Cyclonus. He let out a brief and derisive chuckle.

"I'm not kidding! Megatron used me to play his jealous game on Starscream! And-" Rage overflowed her CPU, and she had hard time putting together her argument. "And- And Starscream shot me in the back, because it's the only thing that stupid emotional brat could do! They both considered me a mindless drone, a puppet they could play with and throw away when they are done! I want them to apologize to me!" she shrieked at the top of her voice.

"But… You were a mindless drone at the time!" retorted Cyclonus.

"Cyclonus!" Rodimus Prime shook his head in disapproval. "Don't say that!"

"How dare you!?"

Nightbird banged her fist and was ready to jump at the throat of the purple Decepticon. '_How dare the bunny head speak that way to me!?'_

"That's the truth! Face it, Nightbird. When Megatron reprogrammed you, you were nothing else but a drone, built by humans. You were deprived of self-consciousness and of the simple gift of speaking," Cyclonus retorted calmly. "It's only after the Cybertronian forces found your cell where you had been put in stasis and decided to reprogram you, using Transformers' technology, that you became a real sentient being!" He stood up in front of her and looked at her with superiority. "Without this, you would be nothing more than a mindless drone!" he added in a growl.

Far from being frightened, Nightbird replied with an equality fierce glare.

"That is your point of view, not mine! I still want apologies from them!"

"Don't be childish, little femme! Megatron and Starscream will never apologize to you. They've never apologized to anybody as far as I know!"

Rodimus Prime stepped prudently between the two and tried to set a hand on the femme's shoulder, but Nightbird jumped back like she was protecting herself from an aggressive attack.

"Cyclonus is right, Nightbird. They won't apologize. Megatron killed hundreds of Autobots with his bare hands without apologizing to us; do you think he feels sorry for what he has done to you? Starscream is an egocentric little bastard, don't expect anything from him neither," Rodimus pleaded. "You were just caught between the two, as a victim of their twisted relationship. It happened to others also. Really, forgive and forget … Turn over a new leaf!"

The yellow optics flashed angrily, but Nightbird cooled down a little. She knew she had no chance of convincing the two Cybertronians of the validity of her request.

"I know what can make me turn over a new leaf," she spat back, trying to control the anger in her voice. "Excuse me, but I have a mission to carry out."

She stepped aside and walked around Rodimus Prime, who didn't try to block her way. She knew he disapproved of her behaviour but was at loss what to say.

'_So long, losers. I'll get apologizes from those two monsters. If they refuse, they will pay with their lives.'_

O

Rodimus and Cyclonus watched silently the femme walking away. They knew they had failed to reason with the femme; there was too much anger in her energy field, and her last reply made her intentions clear.

"If I were you, Rodimus, I'd learn to handle my subordinates better."

The young Transformer stared at the Decepticon, confused by the accusation lacing his words.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean… Optimus Prime might have picked you as his second in command, but you're still learning to fit the function," retorted Cyclonus. His red optics flashed with annoyance. "That means sometimes being harsh with rebellious soldiers. Nightbird should have never have left this place before you set her thinking straight again!"

This time, Rodimus replied by an equally icy look.

"Oh, I see. Use the good old Decepticon method and beat her to death?" he retorted, "That's not the Autobot way."

"If the Decepticons were allowed to fight the way they knew, this war would have ended a long time ago!" Cyclonus hissed, moving threateningly in his direction.

Rodimus was tempted to act the same way but his reason told him to keep his energon cool. This was not the first time that Cyclonus displayed his nostalgia of the Decepticon army. He might be one of the more civilized Decepticons, but his true nature did surface from time to time.

"Believe me; I will prevent Nightbird from carrying out her little vendetta. That is the promise of a High Officer!"

* * *

**Base 0025, Launch Pad # 36**

Skyfire waited until the Salonian transforming bike was pulled out his cargo hold before he shifted back to his robot mode. He was much more at ease after the evacuation of the robot, as Fenril had tried to rebel during the flight. He had put up a fight with Rumble, and some laser shots had followed. The white shuttle pressed a hand against his midsection, where the shots had burned him. 'I'm too nice… I must be cursed!' he thought.

He was leaving the launch pad when he heard the roar of an F-15 decelerating for landing, followed by the characteristic noise of transformation. He assumed that Thundercracker and Skywarp had landed. Concluding that he needed recharge and had nothing to do here, he headed to the exit.

"Skyfire! Hey, Skyfire! Do you have a few minutes to talk?"

Skyfire turned his gaze to the purple Seeker who had just hailed him.

"You want to talk about what? I'm exhausted… The damned robot opened fire in my cargo. I'd like to perform some repairs before recharge."

He had no intention of stopping to chat and walked forward once more. Unfortunately, Skywarp walked faster and stood in front of him, blocking his way to the exit.

"I'm sure you'd like to talk about Starscream and Megatron."

Skyfire peered at the smaller flyer, caught between the urge to sweep him aside and the need to confide in somebody; lighten the burden that had been weighing on his spark for a week.

The purple Seeker was soon rejoined by his wing mate. Thundercracker grabbed Skywarp by a wrist and pulled him backwards.

"Come on, Warp'. Mind your own business!" the blue Seeker complained.

"You're right, TC. The big guy wants to cry by himself," agreed Skywarp, offering no resistance. "As if it was going to bring the pretty Seeker back to him!"

"You're really an insufferable sparkling today."

Thundercracker trailed the black Seeker behind him, ranting about his childish behaviour while the guilty flyer retorted in an equal unnerved tone. Skyfire suddenly realized that he was missing the opportunity to free his conscience.

"No, please, wait… I'd like to talk," he called.

The two Seekers looked back at him, surprised a little by this change of mood.

O

They left the main deck of the platform to settle on a lower deck, cluttered with caissons, coffer-dams and various containers. The three flyers sat down on those makeshift seats as comfortably as possible. Then silence set in, until Skyfire overcame his unease.

"So… What do you guys have to tell me?"

"I want to tell that you are lucky that Starscream prefers Megatron to you! You can't imagine what hell you are escaping from!" declared Skywarp without hesitation.

The white shuttle seemed to be taken aback by such straightforwardness and lowered his gaze. Thundercracker felt ashamed by the behaviour of his wing mate and couldn't help hitting the top of the dark helmet. "Warp', you are so tactless! Apologize to Skyfire AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" he growled.

"What? It's the truth, and you know it!" Skywarp complained.

"There are nicer ways to go about saying something like that!" Thundercracker stopped and looked at Skyfire, looking apologetic. "I didn't mean that Skywarp is right, but…"

"It's okay. You two are certainly right about Starscream. I'm no match for him…" whispered Skyfire. He was miserable, downcast and depressed.

O

Skywarp decided it was time to switch to the electro-shock therapy.

"One thing is certain, Skyfire. You must be a masochistic to be Starscream's lover!" he stated, beckoning to Thundercracker to not interrupt him. He then pointed at Skyfire with an inquisitive finger. "Do you have any idea the hell Megatron had been through with him, hmm?"

"What hell?"

"Well, I can tell you. Cries, insult, mockeries, slapping, shots in the back, betrayal…"

Skyfire glared at the Seeker, his optics bright with a sudden anger.

"Megatron beats him to scrap! He's the victim. Maybe, if he wasn't under influence-"

"You've never been with us, in the Decepticon base," retorted Skywarp, shaking his head. "I can tell you that most of the time, it was Starscream who started the arguments. It was as if he wanted to be beaten, or at least, attract the attention of our leader."

"It can't be… He's not like that! He can't have changed that much!"

Skyfire shook his head in denial.

"Didn't he shoot you after your revival on Earth? I don't know how he was back at the Science Academy, but I believe that side of him is gone. Personally, I've known Starscream only as a psychopath. I can tell you that Megatron is the only Transformer tough enough and masochistic enough to put up with him. Because first, he's been doing this for million years, and second, he loves Starscream and Starscream loves him."

Skyfire slumped onto his improvised couch, looking depressed. "Are you sure they love each other?" he murmured.

"I'm sorry that you find out about it like this, Skyfire," interrupted Thundercracker. "Skywarp is telling the truth. We've just received confirmation from Soundwave of something that we had suspected for a long time. Maybe it's not the right time to speak of this. You may-"

"No, I want to know."

Skyfire's expression was now resigned.

"Megatron took care of Starscream after he had crashed on Cybertron, back from your expedition on Earth. He incorporated him in the Decepticon army, and according to what Soundwave said, considered him his own spark… his heir. Starscream returned the feeling, but his love toward this adoptive father changed into another love. The one with a big "L"… Unfortunately, it looks as if Starscream was convinced of Megatron's betrayal, and started to attack him relentlessly. At the same time, Megatron learned about Starscream's twisted feeling, and-"

"And our mighty leader fell hard for his unfaithful Seeker!" Skywarp exclaimed, gesturing theatrically.

Skyfire lowered his head, in shock. "So, that's why Megatron never killed him…" he muttered.

"Yep! I don't see any other explanation… Anyway, back to you, Skyfire. I guess now you understand there is no place for another Transformer between Megatron and Starscream. They're drawn to each other, albeit in a very twisted way. If there is a chance they can come to love each other in a peaceful way, we should help. Because…" Skywarp crossed his arms on his chest and took a stern expression, "They have ruined the lives of Cybertronians with their squabbles for too long!"

O

Skyfire let out a low sigh. Deep inside him, he had known this was the truth since the first time Starscream and Megatron had stood in front of him. The way Starscream had spoken about Megatron was too passionate. The way Megatron tried to keep control over his lieutenant bordered on possessive. He could remember the absence of Love in Starscream's gaze before he shot him.

'_Hate can be so close to Love, sometimes. They're right, there is no more room for me in Starscream's spark.' _

"I understand," he replied after some time. "I'll stay away from them from now on. At least, as much as the various missions allow me." He then smiled sadly. "I believed I had forgotten him. But he's still there, in my spark."

The two Seekers nodded understandingly.

"This is a weird question, but… You've never fallen for him? It's hard to resist his charms…" Skyfire asked, feeling awkward.

Skywarp and Thundercracker looked at each other and then laughed openly.

"You know, the first time I saw him, I thought to myself: "My, my, what a sex kitten!" admitted Skywarp.

"And then?"

Skyfire's optics were now shining with curiosity.

"And then the brat backhanded me. He also abandoned me on the battlefield and shot me in the back!" Skywarp shook his head angrily. "Before that, I swear he could have stood up in front of me, with his sexy canopy open and his spark ready for merging, I would have admitted defeat! But now…Primus, he's a worst jerk than me! You have to be Megatron to like his behaviour," he completed.

Skyfire, feeling a little better, couldn't help chuckling at the antics of the black Seeker.

"And you, Thundercracker?" he asked to the blue Seeker.

The flyer seemed as uneasy at the question.

"I'm not interested in a relationship with somebody who calls me idiot ten times a day or wants to dominate me. Love must be shared equally, not be a constant battlefield."

Skyfire smiled at him, considering this answer reflected perfectly his own concept of Love.

* * *

**Megatron's quarters**

The door shut with a hiss and left them in the dark silence of Megatron's quarters. Absent-minded and disturbed by thousands of thoughts, the owner of the place didn't react for a few seconds, until his guest reminded him his presence.

"Megatron?"

"I'm going to put on some lights," he replied, groping for the switch.

The white glow of the ceiling lighting revealed the details of the furniture of his room and the form of the Seeker. Starscream was standing close to the door, scanning his surroundings. His arrogant elegance didn't hide the nervousness in his optics.

"Welcome to my modest quarters," Megatron forced himself to say. "Not as vast as the ones of the Decepticon base, but as it's tidy," he added.

"Yes, thank you."

The Seeker stepped into the middle of the room, wings quivering with evidence of his feverish state, and peered at him. Realizing that Starscream was expecting a move from him, Megatron reduced the distance between them in two quick steps. Their energy field intermingled once again and Starscream shivered. Taking advantage of the flyer's euphoria, Megatron wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him close. Starscream looked up at him, looking a bit lost after his suicide attempt.

"Don't be afraid. You know that I won't let anything bad happen to you," Megatron whispered, caressing his cheek.

"I know. It's just-" stuttered Starscream, obviously searching for the right words. "After so many years of hatred… I mean… You. Me… We're together, and-"

"It's troubling," agreed Megatron, "but things are back to normal, and our lives will follow the path they should have had they never been diverted." He stopped when he saw the gaze of his Seeker was set on the black fusion cannon close to his face. "I'm going to take it off-" he quickly offered, "I won't be long."

Megatron walked to the side of his berth and unclasped the cannon attached to his right arm and laid it at its usual place, on the wall. He did the same with the left cannon. Once he was rid of his weapons he turned around, his optics roaming to find his lover. He started when two burning red optics appeared close to his face and hungry lips attacked his lip components.

"You're right… Things are back to normal. We've wasted enough time!"

Starscream roughly pushed Megatron on the berth and climbed on top of him. Megatron groaned in protest when the Seeker pinned his arms over his head and briefly wondered if Starscream wasn't under the effect of the virus. He calmed when the Seeker kissed him savagely, punctuating the kiss with whimpers of satisfaction. His protests didn't go further; and although he hated being the one beneath, he found Starscream's initiative arousing in the extreme.

Finally, Starscream broke the kiss and peered at him with an expression of triumph. "Mine… and mine only!" he chuckled.

"Little traitor." Megatron replied and he smirked. "I should have remembered that you always go all squeamish before backstabbing me!"

"Yes! And you always fall into my trap." The Seeker smirked and caressed the canopy of his captive with languid stealth. "I would have to say that … I think you like it when I trap you. This time, you will beg me for more once I am finished!"

Megatron chuckled when the satisfied smirk grew wider on the dark faceplate. There were few things which would never change with Starscream: his lack of modesty, his exaggerated self-confidence and his twisted imagination. Logic didn't stand a chance behind those beautiful red optics. His own logic faltered when dark lips traced languorously is jaw line.

"I see that you feel better," he replied, trying to hide his trouble. "You will never change: always overrating yourself. You will be the one begging for mercy!"

The Seeker chuckled and devoured the silver lips while his free hand teased the armature of the canopy. He broke the kiss and peered defiantly at his former commander. "I'll never beg you to stop," he purred seductively, "You know how demanding I am!"

"Stop bragging and show me what you're made of, you little-!"

To Megatron's delight, Starscream silenced him with a rough and hungry kiss. It would have been easy for him to push back the lightweight Seeker, but having the beautiful creature straddling his hips and pressing his perfect body so ardently against his was pleasurable. His patience was soon rewarded by gentle caresses as Starscream's hand worked down his cockpit and came to rest on his codpiece. He arched his back when the panel slid open and that inquisitive fingers seized the connection cable and pulled it out. He was tempted to protest against a so free use of this intimate part of his anatomy, but gave up the idea when Starscream slowly pulled out the cable, sending him close to the point of no return. The cable was left alone during a few seconds as Starscream opened his own port, moaning softly his excitement against his lover's lip component. He broke the kiss as he connected to Megatron and gave out a long moan of pleasure. He let go of Megatron's wrists, allowing the silver flyer to come back to a sitting position and grasp his hips.

"Little fool…" Megatron whispered, loving the taunting look the Seeker threw him. "You plugged yourself at the receiving end."

"I would rather say… I'm all yours."

Megatron kissed lightly the dark lips and shot a wave of electricity through the connection. Starscream moaned loudly, almost plaintively and clanged at his shoulders to avoid falling backwards. Encouraged by this reaction, Megatron issued a new wave and secured his Seeker in his arms. The winged Transformer tensed up and arched gracefully against his robust body.

"Say my name," he urged.

"Hum… Megatron!"

It was so deliciously said that he briefly lost control of himself. Starscream lived up to his name as an electrical tidal wave washed over him.

"Say it again!" he ordered, breathing hard.

"Hm… hm… Megatron…"

Starscream tilted his head back, offering his throat to the appetite of the older Transformer. Megatron teased the cables gently, alternately nipping, kissing, biting and sucking. The Seeker was dancing softly against him at the rhythm of the electric discharges that cursed through the connection. The glass of their canopies screeched at each move, producing a metallic music that hardly covered the hammering of the Seeker's fuel pomp in his chest.

"Hm… Megatron… Ah… Hmm!"

"Say you love me!"

"I… love you… Hmm…Megatron!"

The silver flyer smiled as he looked at the face of his lover, reflecting nothing else than rapture. Starscream was already overwhelmed with sensations: the pleasure that Megatron gave him with his caresses, the ecstasy of the connection and the excitement of an act that had been forbidden a so long time. He looked like a young sparkling at his initiation, discovering with awe the sensations created by an interface, bursting into the flames of passion, consumed by the energy surge that disrupted his inner circuits.

'_I love you too…' _

Stimulated by the awe of his partner, Megatron opened gently the golden canopy and established a new connection, linking his own spark box to Starscream's chamber. As expected, all the Seeker's firewalls and defenses were down, as to better offer himself. Megatron could feel his spark throbbing erratically, as the forewarning of a violent climax.

"Hmmm! I… love you… I LOVE YOU…MEGATRON!"

Dramatically aroused by his cries and the growing tension he felt on his lover's body, Megatron went haywire. A new powerful energy wave blasted the Seeker, while dark hands flooded the sensors of his wings with rough sparkles of electricity.

"Me- Megatron… I…Hmmm… I'm going to-!"

Starscream buried his head in Megatron's neck and bit hard. His fingers scratched the immaculate paint job when the accumulated energy blew up deep within him. His chiseled body trembled and his energy field radiated like a sun while his lips spilled shrill cries of ecstasy.

Ignoring the pain of this love bite, the warlord enjoyed each shiver until the cries stopped and the winged body went limp, all systems shut down by a powerful overload. He held Starscream tight, kissing gently his feverish faceplate, tasting his own energon at his lips until some signs of life showed on the Seeker's features.

Megatron laid him down, marveling at his ravished expression and the curves of his graceful body, so worth more loving. He was dramatically aroused, but he knew that a full interface was out of a picture. Judging by the intensity of Starscream's overload, a spark merging would do worse than good. The warlord bit his lips and forced himself to cool down, looking away to distract his mind from such an erotic display. Minutes ticked by slowly, punctuated by the incoherent moans of the recovering Seeker.

"I… don't know… what happened," Starscream finally stuttered with efforts, "I… usually… I… last… longer." His look became pleading and even worried. "Give me… some minutes… and… I recover… and-"

Starscream was so breathless that Megatron couldn't bite back a laugh.

"Don't be silly… A full interface would damage you. You need to rest," he replied, leaning down to cover the slender form with his own body. The Seeker shivered deliciously at the contact, reviving his arousal. Megatron tried to ignore the tremors of his spark and the pressure that built in his body, and cut the connections, setting back the cables in their casing.

"But… I… can… yes… I… You… Me… More… Chance… Please-?"

Megatron cut this meaningless litany with a kiss and peered at the sparkling optics.

"We will have other nights," he whispered, "Millions of nights are awaiting us, Starscream. Now, rest."

The Seeker's confused mumbles died away as he surrendered to recharge. Megatron watched him falling asleep, and soon followed him in recharge, lulled by the pulses of his spark.

He hardly caught the noise of an explosion, deep within the base.

* * *

**Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia**

The black spaceship entered slowly the launch pad of the Makahara and began the landing procedure. Greebo watched with apprehension at its menacing shape coming down the tarmac, while the whizzing of its engines hissed in his ears like promises of death. He beckoned his officers to stand back, cursing the orders of the High Councilor Nyxeris, who had required all officers to be there to welcome her. He would have preferred to be in his quarters, and avoid such a public humiliation.

Greebo knew few things about Nyxeris and her son, Thanatron. At least, he knew no more than all the Salonian High Officers involved in the colonization of new worlds. Some hundred years before, while the spaceships of the Empire were on a hunting trip, in the search of a planet to suck dry of energy, they had found an unknown spaceship. Its occupants, four giant alien robots, had quickly taken down the reconnaissance patrol. Thanks to a significant mobilization of troops, the belligerent robots had been captured few days later. After a battery of tests, the Salonian scientists were convinced of their unique technology and the potential advantage it could bring in the colonization strategy of the Empire. Besides, the robots proved to be extremely intelligent.

The so-called Nyxeris was certainly the cleverest of the four. She quickly understood the goal of the Empire of Salonia and proposed to cooperate in the colonization of planets. Put to a trial by the Emperor, the four transforming robots brought a decisive help to invade a few solar systems. Better than this, Nyxeris suggested new targets, rich in energy and technologies; among them were Cybertron and Earth. The attack against the first planet was a great success, as Nyxeris and her accomplices gave full details about the defense scheme of their own planet and proposed imaginative battle plans to take it down. Pleased by such an effective support, the Emperor had rewarded Nyxeris and her puppets by giving them high ranks in the Imperial Army.

'_Disgusting! How could the Emperor trust such a wretch creatures, which had destroyed their own planet with no remorse?'_

Greebo ran out of thoughts and insults when the front door of the spaceship opened on the black shape of the High Councilor and her heir, the Commander Thanatron. If the femme was angular and rather slender, her son was bulky and strongly built, taller than her by at least six or seven feet. Salonians were only small ants in comparison to them.

Nyxeris walked down the stairs without haste. Her human-like features were empty of any expression, only her yellow optics were shining of a disturbing light. Her son followed, his masked faceplate showing red optics glittering with a predatory look. Greebo felt like running away when the femme stood in front of him, and bent down to better observe him. The dark faceplate stopped few inches above him, and the vacant expression turned to amusement.

"I see that you managed to follow my orders and gathered the troops for my welcome!"

There was an underlying threat hidden in this soft voice. Greebo stepped back, but bumped into the hand of Nyxeris. The femme squeezed his body and held him up to optics level.

"High Councilor! Please-" Greebo begged, feeling that something bad was to happen to him.

"No cry. No begging. Show some dignity when facing your judgment day!" Nyxeris replied, squeezing hard. "Your men are watching you!" she mocked.

"No please!"

Greebo could feel his exo- skeleton starting to snap and his inner organ giving up under the pressure. Salonian's blood spilled from his gaping mouth as the vice like grip tightened. Something in his back broke and some of his bones cut his flesh. Greebo howled in pain but the machine didn't listen. Pressure and pain became unbearable, sending him straight to unconsciousness.

O

"Was it necessary to do that?"

The voice was deep and slightly grating, and the reproachful tone, unnerving. Nyxeris peered at her son, and threw with disdain the broken body of Greebo to the ground, just in front the Salonian officers.

"Clean the place! I don't want to see him anymore!" she ordered to the frightened fleshy aliens.

She smirked when the officers picked up the remains of the former Commander and hastily exited from the launch pad. The Salonians who didn't leave were all quivering with fright, waiting for an order or the apocalypse. '_What a nice sensation!'_

"Mother? I asked you a question…"

'_A nicer sensation than the sound of Thanatron's voice. What's wrong with him?' _she wondered.

"It's always necessary to track and expel the incompetents from an army," she replied, caressing the area in his hand where Greebo's blood had melted the metal, "Otherwise, you find yourself in the situation of this base: stuck in a conflict!"

"It's a loss of time!"

"I don't think so." Nyxeris turned to the Salonians and flashed her optics angrily. "What are you waiting for? Disembark our belongings immediately!" she barked.

Confused "Yes your Highness!" echoed to her command, while the little ants headed hastily and in pure panic inside the ship. This confusion seemed to amuse the Councilor, until she caught the energy field of her heir, giving her the confirmation that Thanatron was now irritated to no end.

"You will have your fun, my son. Tomorrow!" she purred, walking to the bulky mech, oblivious of the small creatures that had to jump out of her way to avoid her giant's feet. "You're attacking the base 0022 in the morning. I'm sure you will make a real slaughter among the resistance's troops! Most of all, it will destroy the main energy supply of the base 0025."

She set her hand on the cannon equipping the right arm of her son, caressing it lightly. This mark of affection didn't brighten the mood of the Transformer, who glared at the femme.

"I know."

"My son, what's going on? I've never seen you in such a dark mood for years!" Nyxeris tried to pat his cheek, but Thanatron stepped back, optics flashing angrily. "Aren't you happy to be back to this planet and finish the job we have started few years ago?" she asked, upset by his reaction.

"No."

Thanatron spun around and exited from the launch pad without looking back at her. Nyxeris watched him, analyzing closely the variations in his energy field; there were anger, irritation and… worries.

"Do we have a secret towards your mother, my son?" she whispered, tightening her fists. A dangerous light flashed in her optics.

"This could be extremely upsetting!"

**To be continued...**


	22. Ch 22: The Truth Breefing Time

Thanks a lot to all readers for their support to this fic, and to Krystalmaze for the beta reading and editing.

* * *

**Chapter 22: The Truth (1) – Briefing Time**

**Base 0025, Megatron's quarters, the following morning**

His hand caressed the sleepy dark face and travelled down his neck, his chest vent, traced the armature of the golden canopy and then settled around the narrow waist. Megatron pulled his Seeker closer and kissed him gently. He then cursed himself for being so overly sentimental and unable to suppress the need to have Starscream in close contact with him.

'_Idiot! You're becoming such a softy!'_

The red optics flickered but Starscream didn't leave his recharge mode. A tender smile appeared on Megatron's lips, and he cursed himself again.

O

_Starscream knew that Shootingstar was closely observing the progression of his two sons in the canyon. For once, he was ahead of Sunstorm, and had the intention of keeping his advantage. The first laser shots passed below his right wing, obliging him to correct his flight pattern, but he kept his leading position. _

_He was still ahead when he arrived at the point he dreaded the most. There was a gigantic metal ring occupying the complete width of the canyon. The only way to complete the flying race was to fly through it and avoid the shots of the cannons, placed on the 360-degree-surface. Starscream had reflected the whole night about a way to fly through this obstacle remaining unscathed, and had found a possible solution. He decelerated until his speed was low enough to enable a safe transformation into robot mode. He then pirouetted in air, avoiding gracefully the laser beams that rained around him. None of them grazed his body, which was not the case of Sunstorm, who had decided to go through the storm of lasers in his Tetra jet mode. Starscream's brother didn't even stagger when his left wing was traversed by two direct shots, and continued his flight. Once he was sure he had escaped the danger, Starscream switched back to his jet mode and pushed onto his thrusters to regain distance on Sunstorm._

_Unfortunately, Sunstorm was now far ahead from him. The golden yellow jet passed the finishing line and almost crashed at the feet of his creator. Shootingstar helped his son to stand, ignoring the perfect landing of his younger son._

"_Perfect, Sunstorm. Your flight was outstanding!" The Air Commander hugged the Seeker with pride, and then glared at his other kid with severity. "Can you tell me what you were trying to do?" he barked._

_Despite his efforts, Starscream trembled; not of fear. He wanted to cry. To shoot: "Dad, please! I need your attentions!" Sunstorm was the favourite son of Shootingstar; he was just the ugly duckling of the family. Shootingstar was the designer of Sunstorm's body, while Rapidfire, his bond mate, had created Starscream's specs. Sunstorm looked very much like Shootingstar, matching his strength and size, while Starscream was smaller and slender, showing the same femme like paint job as Rapidfire._

_Starscream knew what was to follow; reproaches, anger. Harsh words on how much he was a shame to the family._

"_I'm sorry, father. I assumed-"_

"_What ever you assumed, Starscream, you were wrong. And first, you think too much. A warrior doesn't think; he goes through the battle and kills enemy! You should take the example of Sunstorm!"_

_Starscream's optics flashed with indignation._

"_How could Sunstorm be able to kill an enemy if he had been injured and had crashed on the ground? What you say is nonsense!" he shrieked._

_A slap in the face cut his protest. Starscream reached for his cheek with a hand, feeling ready to cry. Shootingstar was just unfair with him._

"_Do not challenge me, Starscream!" his father hissed. Starscream lowered his gaze, not ready to face the burning look of the silver Seeker. "Sunstorm behaved like a warrior on this exercise, and you, like a coward. You hesitated, were afraid, so you tried to cheat!" The young Seeker felt his father reaching his audio components, "Believe me, little idiot, in real life, you can't cheat a long time. Otherwise, you will miss a great deal of opportunities, which could change your life."_

_Starscream kept his face lowered, not daring to look up at his fiery creator._

_A hand on his shoulder provoked an unexpected shiver. This was not the touch of Shootingstar. Looking up, he met the red gaze of a white silver mech, who was busy setting a rich cape on his shoulders._

_He knew the scene; it was right after his nomination as second in command of the Decepticon army, just before the official announcement. He was in Megatron's quarters._

_He tensed when he felt a hand of Megatron setting on his shoulder to adjust the cape tighter around his chest vents. The sensation was more troubling than anything else. Two more brushes and he found it completely pleasurable, addicting, and soon dreamed of those dark fingers running along his hips. When he looked up, he had a perfect view on the smiling face of the Tyrant and his slightly parted lips. He was so close; maybe he could rest his head on the powerful shoulder or even taste those lips, and make an old dream come true?_

'_Believe me, little idiot, in life, you can't cheat a long time!'_

_The words of Shootingstar echoed on his processor. He remembered how this sweet scene had ended up; provocation and humiliation._

'_Otherwise, you will miss a great deal of opportunities, which could have changed your life.'_

_Did this mean he had a chance to change his past? That he was allowed to follow his desires and abandon his dreams of revenge? _

'_You can't cheat-"_

_Starscream set his head against the silver chest and circled the waist of the Transformer with his arms._

"_Megatron. Please forgive me, I can't live like this anymore," he whispered._

_Warmth spread in his circuits when strong arms wrapped around him; relaxed, he leaned further in the crushing but soothing embrace._

"_I need you so badly, Megatron."_

_O_

"I need you so badly, Megatron."

The smile grew wider on the silver lips. Megatron was not sure that Starscream was completely online, but this declaration was heartening at the most. The Seeker stirred a little and then readjusted his position against the silver white Transformer, so that their cockpits were pressed against each other. Slick white legs brushed sensually silver thighs.

"Hmm… Where am I?" the Seeker whispered, looking suddenly a little startled. He then minded the presence of the white mech, and traced with little apprehension his features. "Megatron?" he timorously asked.

Worry seized the warlord's spark. "You don't remember where you are?" he asked.

Starscream's gaze went blank during a few seconds, while he replayed the scenes of the last hours. His gaze stopped at the blue marks on the silver shoulder and at the cut cable in the dark throat.

"Of course, I remember!" he retorted, forcing a seductive smile to lighten his puzzled expression.

"I believed you had lost your memory again… It's not the case, is it?"

"How could I forget such a hot spark merging?" the Seeker purred and then tugged at Megatron's lip components. "You made me crazy."

The Transformer pushed him back a little and stared at him in shock.

"Starscream, we didn't merge our sparks last night. What do you remember exactly?"

The face of the flyer fell and his optics flashed in panic.

"I- I tried to replay the last hours in my memory bank, but I can't open the files!" he stuttered. He trembled and hid his face on Megatron's neck. "I don't remember what happened between us. I barely recollect the discussion with Galvatron, I-"

His last words kept stuck in his vocal component. Starscream shivered and sobbed, overcome by the emotion created by this new memory failure. Megatron imprisoned him in his arms, conscious of his pain.

"Don't worry. We knew it could happen again," he whispered, trying to be reassuring.

"No! No! It's impossible! I have to remember!" The Seeker looked up and threw him a desperate look. "Don't tell me we spent our first night together, and that I can't remember it!" he cried.

Megatron managed his best smile and guided his face to rest against his shoulder. Comforting and caressing, his hand cherished the quivering back.

"We spent a night together, the first of a long series. That's the only truth that counts for me," he firmly stated.

New shivers and sobs replied to him. Megatron cradled the desperate Seeker in a tight embrace, caressing him to soothe his pain. He then activated his COM'link.

_(Ratchet? Do you copy? We're going to be late…)_

The link crackled and the reply came after a few seconds.

_(You're already late! Anyway, come as soon as you're ready.)_

* * *

**Base 0025, Medical Repair Bay**

"He remembers… only a part of the last 24 hours?" Ratchet asked, closely observing the monitor screen of the surveillance camera. Starscream was sat on a berth, wings drooping dejectedly, staring vacantly at the medical equipment he was linked to. The CMO then looked back at Megatron. "What does he remember exactly?"

The white Transformer tensed up at the question.

"He recollects the events of yesterday afternoon. His suicide attempt. My promise of becoming his-" The words trailed off the silver lips as the warlord hesitated to choose a word. "My promise of staying by his side as caretaker. He also remembers our conversation with Galvatron, but not the end of the meeting. He cannot play the sequences about… the night in my quarters," he stated uneasily. "Besides, he had a dream, mixing different scenes from his memory bank."

The medic caught glimpses of emotions in Megatron's voice and decided to hide his surprise. Megatron was not the kind of mech who liked to be caught in a position of weakness.

"That's good news," he retorted, trying to be reassuring.

The optics of the warlord flashed with anger and annoyance. "That's good news that he lost his memory again?" he snarled.

"No! It's sad he doesn't remember important moments of his life. However, to the best of my knowledge, the program on the disk is supposed to erase all the memories about you and him getting closer. You said Starscream remembers your promise. If the virus was fully effective, he shouldn't be able to recollect that you two had become intimate!"

Megatron looked startled and his optics flashed a light that Ratchet had never seen before.

"Intimate? I don't understand what you're talking about!" the warlord groaned.

Ratchet knew he had made a blunder. However, he had to broach the subject if he wanted to check a crucial point.

"Megatron, I know about yesterday; Starscream's attempt of suicide, and how you decided to become his caretaker. We followed you on the security camera network." He tensed up when he caught a strong irritation in Megatron's energy field. "Besides, everybody in the base heard you last night…"

Ratchet gulped when Megatron's anger radiated through his energy field. His wings were twitching nervously, and he clenched and unclenched his fists uncontrollably. The CMO mustered all his courage to carry on with his questions.

"I'm sorry to ask you so private a question, but… Have you merged your spark with Starscream?"

The little red bot stepped back when Megatron shot him a glare as deadly as his fusion cannon.

"It's NOT YOUR BUSINESS!" the Decepticon roared, indignant.

Ratchet managed to hide that he was now scared to death and shook his head with an apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry to tell you that, but if you had merged your spark with Starscream, your spark is now infected by the virus. It has been less than twelve hours, you can still be treated."

"Why didn't you tell me about that before??" Now, Megatron looked horrified.

"Because you didn't let me explain you that point before!"

Upset and confused, the winged Transformer started to pace up and down before Ratchet. After a few minutes, he stopped and glared at the medic.

"I connected to his spark casing. He was done in no time, so I decide to avoid a spark merging," he stated. "But next time-"

Megatron fell silent, as he was certainly processing the meaning of Ratchet's words and the choice that it involved. The CMO decided to respect this moment of meditation and pretended to work on other tasks. On the screen, Starscream had fallen in a light recharge, enabling Perceptor to work on the upgrade of the disc's programs.

The warlord peered at the form of his Seeker and then finally spoke.

"The next time will happen quickly. How long do you need to make the necessary work on me?"

When Ratchet looked up, he was caught by the expression of Megatron; he looked soft and calm.

"We already made a small modification in your wrists. One of the small fusion cannons can be removed, and replaced by a flask of antidote."

Megatron checked quickly the device on his left wrist.

"Excellent," he stated.

His coldness was absent, replaced by an indefinable emotion.

'_Maybe love?'_ pondered Ratchet, watching him closely as he motioned to the exit from the lab to join Starscream in the main repair room. "Wait a minute!" he called.

"What?"

Ratchet's mouth outlined a timorous smile. "Well, you may want to avoid gossips. I can fix your shoulders and neck."

* * *

**Outside the medical repair bay**

Starscream peeped once again at Megatron, pondering why he was so silent and calm. There had always been a tension looming in the Decepticon leader's energy field, but since they had left the repair bay, it had been replaced by a disturbing feeling of serenity.

Despite their agreement to avoid signs of intimacy outside their quarters, Starscream allowed himself to set a hand on Megatron's forearms, caressing gently. There was nobody in this hallway, after all.

"You seem thoughtful." He lowered his head and sighed. "I can't blame you. Having me as a partner… a nutcase who can't even remember the attentions of his lover!"

"Don't say that!" Red optics set close to his face. "I am thoughtful, but it is not related to your amnesia. I've just realized something very important."

"What is it?"

Megatron lowered his face as to kiss him, but stopped when he caught the surveillance camera that hung above them. He rose to his full height and seized the device, which he tore out without effort. Starscream didn't have the time to give out a cry of surprise when his body was firmly held in the larger mech's arms, and a glossa explored eagerly his mouth. Megatron let go only when the elevator's door opened, unveiling another surveillance camera.

"This… You and me. We have to go now."

Megatron pushed gently his Seeker in the cabin and typed with assurance the 15th level of the base on the keyboard. The door shut silently and the lift rose slowly.

"Are we going to meet with somebody?" asked Starscream, a little shaken by the passion that his partner had displayed. "Soundwave, perhaps? I remember you wanted to see Soundwave."

The expression of Megatron darkened a little, and he sighed.

"No, I'll visit him later. He's not the priority. Galvatron invited us to a meeting. I don't know for what purpose, but I'm eager to discover it."

"Sure…"

Starscream didn't know what to say. He silently tried to play the memory of the latest hours of the previous day, but it gave again the same error message.

They arrived at the 7th floor, the doors opened on the Lamborghini twins, who walked in the lift, grinning at the two Transformers. Starscream grumpily stepped back, reminded of the countless times the two had played jet judo with him or his wing mates. He then realized that Sunstreaker and Sideswipe were laughing derisively, throwing mocking looks over their shoulders. He was to yell after them when two black hands grabbed the twins by the shoulders.

"If I were you, I'd stopped those little sniggers at once. Or say good-bye to some of my body parts! My head, for instance!" Megatron purred. The evilness in his tone made Starscream quiver involuntarily with desire.

The two Lamborghinis looked back and started when they saw the barrels of the black fusion cannons, grazing their faceplates.

"Yes, sir!"

"Sorry, sir!"

The elevator stopped at the 12th floor in the most complete silence.

"You've arrived. Get off!"

"YES SIR!"

"Have a great day, SIR!"

Megatron let go off the two smaller Transformers, who left the lift with cries of fright. They ran past Bluestreak, who obviously wanted to use the elevator, but stopped and stared with a frightened look at the Transformer blocking the entrance.

"I- I'm going to wait for the next one..." he said, forcing a nervous smile to appear on his tensed feature.

"I believe so."

The warlord gave out a sinister chuckle, and then came back to lean against the wall once the door was closed.

"What were the two scum laughing at?" inquired Starscream.

Megatron gave him a knowing look and smiled seductively.

"Oh, I see." Starscream sighed and came to lean beside Megatron. "I guess everybody knows what happened to me last night, except me."

O

They entered the meeting room a few cycles later. Only Galvatron and Cyclonus were sat at the large table, discussing in low voices. They stopped when they saw Megatron and Starscream. The face of Galvatron outlined a mocking expression as he undressed the Seeker with his optics.

"I see that the pretty Seeker is still alive," he rasped and then gave a chuckle, looking at his brother. "Primus! It seems from his cries that you had given your kitten the ride of his life!" He then peered at Starscream, "I now understand what you're named after," he mocked, wiping his perverse smirk with his glossa.

Starscream would have liked to be a cyber-mouse to hide in shame in a corner of the room. He hated the way the purple warlord looked at him, as if he was… a pleasure bot.

"Enough! That is not your business!" Megatron retorted, walking to him with clenched fists.

Galvatron chuckled insanely and stood up, showing no sign of hostility or nervousness.

"If you don't want others interfere in your love affair, you should manage to shut up your pet before screwing him."

Starscream felt like turning around and escaping the humiliation of the crazy mech's sniggering. He didn't have the time instead he watched with bewilderment Megatron slapping his brother in the face.

"Enough! When I tell you to shut up, you shut up! Is it clear?" Megatron barked. "My private life is not your business!"

Galvatron promptly beckoned Cyclonus, who was ready to jump at his brother's throat, to stay still and not interfere in the quarrel. He then patted his cheek and smiled wickedly.

"My, my… Does it mean that my brother had decided to be himself? At last, nasty Megatron is back!" Galvatron chuckled and then burst out frankly laughing. "I knew that shagging your pet would set you back on the right track. Mwahh!" He then pointed at the seats at the other side of the table. "Have a seat!"

Megatron peered angrily at his brother, obviously tempted to slap him again. "I hope for you that what you're going to expose is important!" he growled, beckoning Starscream to seat beside him.

The four sat up in silence, watching each other with different expressions on their faces; Galvatron was smug and Megatron, sceptical. Cyclonus was tensed and Starscream, unease to be there.

"Galvatron. What do you have to say? Why are we slagging here?"

"You're here because I thought that you needed to attend the meeting of the Base 0025's Commanders and High-Officers." Galvatron flatly answered.

His two interlocutors exchanged perplex glances.

"We're not Commanders or High-Officers here, but civilians." Megatron reported, optics flickering angrily. "Have you forgotten that point? You were quite happy to announce it."

Galvatron replied with an amused grin.

"Your position in this base can be easily improved. I wanted you to be here because I'm fed up seeing the Autoscums leading this base." His fist slammed the armrest of his seat. "Primus, if the Decepticons were leading the base, this war would have ended a long time ago!" he groaned and then grinned devilishly. "Besides, I want to be sure that once this war ends, the interests of the Decepticons will be preserved and not abandoned to Optimus Prime."

He stopped, observing closely the reaction of his brother and his lieutenant. The two were now listening to every words he said.

"I see. You want to reinforce the Decepticons' leadership in this base. I'm fine with this idea," Megatron replied in a calm voice. "What this meeting will be about?"

Galvatron grinned in triumph.

"During last fall out against the Salonians, Soundwave found a human who had been presumed dead for two years, after she had been shot down by Stalkers. She was very well alive, partly rebuilt with Salonian technology and," He lowered his voice as if he was the bearer of a heavy secret. "And according to some breeches, she acknowledged that some Transformers have survived to the attack of Cybertron, and are used for other planets' colonization."

"Interesting. What else?"

"That's what we-"

Galvatron held back his sentence when the door slid open on the tall frame of Optimus Prime. He stopped at the threshold when he recognized the mechs who were sat there. Jazz and Prowl, who followed him, stared at them with the same bewilderment.

"What are you doing here, Megatron?"

The voice of the truck betrayed perfectly that he was annoyed to see his old foe there, flanked by his lieutenant.

"I invited him to the meeting!" Galvatron retorted pompously, and then smiled knowingly. "I thought that his presence as adviser would be beneficial for everybody." He lowered his voice, "Remember the countless times he had kicked your aft, and I guess you will agree with this choice!"

"He's right, Prime!" Megatron mirrored the superior expression of his brother. "You know me; I'm quite good at imagining evil plans, and I am a master in warfare. I might see between the lines better than you can. Evilness is not something you're accustomed to."

"You're wrong. I'm very familiar with evilness, thanks to you." The truck Transformer was thoughtful during a few minutes. "I authorize you to attend this meeting as a guest. It doesn't mean that you've become a Base Commander."

"As you wish, Prime."

Megatron threw a devilish glance to his brother, and the two exchanged a predatory smile.

O

It took less than half an hour for the other participants to gather. Each of them had the same reaction when they made out the two uninvited Decepticons. Shockwave set his unique optic on Megatron, like the barrel of a cannon ready to shoot him. He walked to Optimus Prime, but kept his comments for himself. Ratchet let his data pad slip on the floor, as he was startled. Rodimus Prime's optics almost bulged out their casing when he made out Megatron and Starscream. Next to come were a tall truck Transformer that the two Decepticons hadn't met for years, followed by a greenish and bulky Triple Transformer.

"It's… Ultra Magnus?" Starscream murmured.

"Optimus Prime's brother…" Megatron chuckled and peered at his old enemy. "This war is really becoming a family business!"

Scourge was the last officer to join the meeting; he didn't even have a look at the two guests and took a seat besides Cyclonus.

"We don't have much time, so I'd like to go straight to the point," Optimus Prime declared sternly. "As you might know, we have-"

"Optimus, prior to this, can you tell me what they are doing here?" asked Ultra Magnus, pointing at the two unwanted guests.

"They're here as advisors, nothing else."

"I see."

Ultra Magnus threw his brother a reproachful look, while Rodimus Prime sighed heavily. The two Decepticon brothers' grin grew wider. Starscream's wings twitched nervously in response to the growing tension he felt in the room.

"Coming back to the main agenda… We have collected a woman who stated she was a pilot of the base 0025, shot down in operation two years ago. She said she was captured by a Salonian patrol, and sent to one of their vessels, out of this solar system. She had been repaired and conditioned to serve the cause of the Empire and sent to fight under its banner in colonization war. She mentioned that there were also other Transformers, conditioned to fight for the Empire the same way. She-"

"Have you first checked if the girl is not conditioned by the Empire to tell us all that crap?" Megatron faced all the glares with arrogant majesty and smirked. "It's so easy to twist the mind of the flesh creatures," he purred, "and I know what I am talking about."

Some blue gazes set in anger, while red ones sparkled with interest. Everybody knew that Megatron had once put into practice massive mind twisting to enslave humans and overcome Earth (1).

"We've conducted tests on her. I can say that we have 95 chance that she tells the truth." Ratchet informed.

"You'd better watch out for the 5 remaining percent," the silver flyer retorted, "Carry on with the explanations!"

Megatron felt an immense joy when Optimus Prime glared at him. Being on the same side didn't mean he couldn't be nasty with the Autobot leader.

"That's not all. She stated that several Transformers are willingly helping the Empire in their war. She mentioned two names; High-Counsellor Nyxeris and her son, Commander Thanatron."

The two Decepticon brothers exchanged a startled look when they heard the second name.

"This is nonsense!" Galvatron barked at the truck Transformer.

"Is this a joke?" Megatron smashed his armrest with his fist, giving a start to all the onlookers. "This is impossible. Only members of our family are allowed to use the suffix "Tron" in their names." His optics burned with indignation. "To the best of my knowledge, Galvatron and I are the only survivors of our family. Besides, I would have never allowed anybody else to use this name!"

Alarmed by the tone of his voice, Prowl, Jazz and Rodimus Prime groped nervously for their riffles. They relaxed a little when Optimus beckoned them to keep still.

"I was extremely surprised myself," he said, "but we have to study all the possibilities." He stopped, searching for his words. "Are you sure that you are the two last members of your family? No brother?"

"Nonsense! Our creator had only two sons; Megatron and me. Period!" shrieked Galvatron.

Optimus Prime looked terribly uneasy.

"And you have... no son?" he insisted.

The two brothers looked very much ready to leap at the truck Transformer and lynch him. Feeling that the situation was turning sour, all the Autobots seized their riffles, ready to shield their leader. They were quickly copied by the Decepticons; Starscream pointed his Null Rays at Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus, while Cyclonus aimed at Prowl and Jazz, while Scourge had a clear shot at Springer and Ratchet. Only Shockwave remained seated, cold and impassive.

The harmony between Cybertronians had never been that fragile.

"That's exactly why I didn't want you in this meeting, Megatron!" Optimus Prime gave out a sigh.

"You wanted to mock the name of my family behind my back? Too bad for you!" Megatron raised his weapon in his direction; "I should have done this earlier!"

"Gentlemen, maybe we should keep our cool and avoid slaughtering each other. That would only please the Empire of Salonia," Shockwave calmly stated. "Please, hold your fire and return your weapons back to their casings." He then peered at Megatron and Galvatron. "We're not asking you those questions to trouble you, but to try and discover the identity of the traitors who had traded our planet to the Empire of Salonia." He paused and then added: "You have to know that Thanatron shows the same faceplate as you, and wears a fusion cannon. Admit that it triggers some interrogations!"

Minutes ticked by slowly while sentient beings challenged each other with the power of their optics. Megatron finally set a hand on Starscream arms, forcing him to lower his weapons, while Galvatron beckoned Scourge and Cyclonus to do the same. The Autobots were encouraged to follow their example by Ultra Magnus.

"As far as I know, I don't have any son!" Megatron hissed through clench teeth.

"Humph! You see me with a sparkling?" Galvatron snorted, "Never had, don't want one!"

"Then, Thanatron's real identity remains a mystery to us," Optimus Prime sighed. "Nevertheless, it's possible that he's linked to one of you. Any idea of who can be Nyxerys?"

"Never knew any Nyxeris," retorted Megatron. "It might be a fake name."

"Don't know the bitch either!"

They all sat back around the table, mood darkened by all those questions that didn't have any answer.

"I haven't told you everything that Nerte Reignault recounted to us," Optimus Prime pursued. "Nyxerys had accomplices. Among them, a certain Chipbreaker – not sure it's his real name – had extensive skills in Transformer enginery and medicine. He would have helped improved the Salonian Stalker and perhaps, had participated to the elaboration of the star virus."

"Whoever they are, they really want us dead," whispered Prowl.

"The last work of Chipbreaker included giving the Stalkers the capacity of transforming," said Optimus Prime. "We saw the result last time. Terrifying! Unfortunately, we don't have much information on this, given that they were recorded on the hard drive of Miss Reignault's vehicle."

"We gathered the so-called Fenril, but the Salonians had found him before us. They erased the data and set a bomb in the robot." Ratchet sighed, looking tired. "It exploded in the Med Bay last night. Thanks to the girl, who had quickly understood the trap, the damages are limited to the robot itself."

"The bastards!" Rodimus Prime muttered.

"Just a point. How did the girl manage to escape?" ventured Ultra Magnus. "You said she was conditioned by the Empire to fight for its interest!"

"That's major information. There are freedom fighters among the Salonians, who don't support their Empire's hegemonies. They helped her to find a way out."

"That means we may have a chance to find allies against the Empire!" Cyclonus twisted nervously on his chair, which was unusual to him. "Do we know if they are a real counter power?"

"No, we don't know. Nerte hasn't told us everything."

"You'd better make her tell her secrets a little quicker." Galvatron groaned. "Torture her!"

"That's not a good idea!"

"Mwarf! Autobots, you're so soft!" the warlord growled. "Leave me five minutes with the Squishy girl, and I swear-!"

"Galvatron, please, don't start it over-!"

_(Optimus Prime! I request your attention immediately!)_

The desperate voice of Blaster echoed in the room, cutting short the verbal argument.

"Not now, Blaster."

_(Optimus, the base 0022 is under attack!)_

"What?!"

Ultra Magnus jumped to his feet, imitated by Springer.

"Do we have a point on the situation? Any visuals?" he inquired, voice trembling.

_(We have. The Salonians are filming the attack and sent it as a message of some sort!)_

"Broadcast it at once!" Optimus Prime ordered.

The screen that flickered to life was a pure vision of hell. The base 0022 appeared behind a thick dark smoke, some area in the grip of fire. In the sky, grapes of Stalkers hovered in all directions, shooting lasers at human Jet fighters. A F-22 exploded in a corner of the screen, adding more fire and smokes to the scene.

"No! It can be!"

Ultra Magnus tightened his fists with rage.

The camera suddenly shifted to focus on the silhouette of a tall mech, undoubtedly of Cybertronian origins. He was strongly built, matching perfectly the appearance of Megatron and Galvatron, albeit his dark paint job. A silver grey fusion cannon was glittering sinisterly on his right arm.

"That's impossible!" Megatron stood up slowly, unable to look aside from this apparition.

Thanks to a motion of the camera, the features of the robot appeared very clearly on the screen, leaving no doubts about the identity of the Transformer.

"He's like us!" Galvatron gaped at the face, so similar to his.

"This is a trap! It can't be otherwise!" Starscream's gaze travelled back and forth from the faces of the two brothers to Thanatron's faceplate on the screen. "He's like an upgraded version of you!"

Consternation swept over the attendees of the meeting when a dark chuckle escaped the lips of the Cybertronian. Grating, mocking, sinister. So similar to Megatron's and Galvatron's tone.

"Come if you dare, losers of the base 0025. I'm waiting for you!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

(1) Reference to the "Ultimate Doom", Season 2.


	23. Ch 23: Departure

Thanks to all for the reviews on chapter 22. Here is chapter 23.

Thanks to Krystalmaze for the editing.

* * *

**Chapter 23: the Truth (2) - Departure**

**Base 0025, Meeting Room Kappa**

"Come if you dare, losers of the base 0025. I'm waiting for you!" The Transformer gave a last sinister laugh and peered at the camera. Megatron couldn't help quivering when the gaze stopped at him. "There won't be any prisoners. You're warned!"

The screen went black as the transmission stopped, leaving the assistance in complete silence and disarray. Galvatron eventually broke the oppressive noiselessness by kicking his chair, sending it fly against the wall.

"Who the slag is that guy?!" he shrieked at the top of his voice, "How dare he wear our faceplates!! Argh! I'm going to rip it off and make him eat it! I'm going to dismantle him and throw his pieces into a smelting pit!"

The furious Transformer hurled more colourful insults at the mysterious Transformer, but was ignored by the other officers, still shocked by this apparition and the ongoing attack of the base 0022.

"That must be Thanatron…" Megatron whispered.

"Whoever he is, I won't stay here and wait for the Salonians to burn my base to ashes. I'm going back there!" Ultra Magnus stared at his elder brother, "I need some reinforcement, Optimus. Flyers! Aerial warriors!" he begged.

"I can appoint some of our best aerial fighters, but I have to keep most of my men here, to protect the base 0025 in case of attack." Optimus Prime typed quickly a request on the keyboard, checking on Teletran II the availability of his troops. "Let me check."

The screen that had broadcasted the Salonian transmission flickered to life and showed images coming from the security network of the besieged base. Several towers of drilling oil wells had been transformed into giant torches, saturating the sky with a thick dark smoke. Cannons were moving and shooting frenetically at shapes of black robots, who replied with equally terrifying fire powers.

Ultra Magnus clenched his fists and threw a desperate look at his brother. "Optimus! I'll have to leave within the hour. With the Atlantis at full speed, it's going to take at least 5 hours to join the coasts of Hoàng Sa!"

"I know." Optimus Prime straightened up and sighed. "I need the Aerialbots here. Besides, they are not yet fully repaired. Blitzwing and Astrotrain are available, as well as Dirge, Skyfire, Thundercracker, Skywarp and Soundwave." He turned in the direction of Galvatron and his two lieutenants. "I guess you are eager to find out who is Thanatron, and that you want to go. Cyclonus and Scourge are very welcome."

"Of course I come!" Galvatron snorted and raised a furious fist; "I'm going to crush the guy with my bare hands!"

Optimus Prime motioned to Ultra Magnus and set a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry; it's all I can do…"

"Yeah, I underst-"

"Don't you think you're forgetting somebody here?" The two Truck Transformers shifted their attentions to the silver robot who had scowled to them, imitated by the other members of the gathering. "Me for instance."

"You're not part of the army, Megatron." Optimus replied with annoyance. "Besides-"

"Oh! Stop your stupid speech about the needs to respect the rules of this base!" Galvatron growled, "Let him come with us! The more warriors to kill Salonian Stalkers, the better."

Comforted by this comment, Megatron gave a nasty smile to his old foe.

"You know how efficient I can be. Do you recall how much I could harm you?" Megatron purred. He then made up his most evil smile. "Do you remember how close I was to killing you in our past battles?" he added. "I can do the same to the Salonians!"

"Almost as close as I was to killing you." The optics of Optimus Prime were empty of emotions. "You can go with them."

"Excellent!"

"If Megatron goes, then I go too!"

O

Megatron couldn't help trembling when the grating voice reached him. He looked down at his Seeker and was surprised by the determination he read in the red glasses of his optics.

"No, you can't come. You're not in a condition to fight!" he softly retorted.

"Nonsense!" Megatron felt a pang of sadness when Starscream glared angrily at him. "I am in a perfect condition to fight and kick Salonian asses!" the Seeker shrieked and then looked hard at Ratchet; "Tell him that I'm fit for battle!"

The CMO seemed to shrink in size as all the stares were now set on him.

"According to this morning's check up, Starscream is mechanically fit for battle," he murmured, unsure of the effects of his statement on Megatron.

"What?!" The warlord frowned at him and gave out a growl of irritation. "That's the not the feeling I had earlier in the morning!" he barked, making Ratchet become even smaller on his seat.

"That's fine with me! Starscream is welcome on this battle!" declared Ultra Magnus, motioning to the exit. "Departure from the launch pad number 65 in forty five minutes. My ship will be large enough to seat everybody. As for the battle strategy, we'll see on the way."

The Truck Transformer exited hastily into the hallway, Springer following his footsteps. Galvatron walked after him, still throwing death threats at "the son of a glitch" that had copied his faceplate. Cyclonus and Scourge followed; the first was cold and impassive as usual, the second seemed annoyed by the ranting of his leader. Taking advantage of the general disorder, Starscream escaped the place before Megatron could catch him.

"Starscream… Wait!"

"Don't try to stop me!" the flyer retorted, quickening his pace in the corridor, "I need to fight."

O

Optimus Prime sat back in his chair as if he was drained of energy. He roamed his gaze across the room, which was now deserted by the attendants of the meeting; only Shockwave was still here, packing back his data pads on subspaces.

"And now, what do you think is going to happen?" he asked in a voice betraying his own confusion.

"Wait and see, I guess. And prepare for an eventual attack." Shockwave's single optics flashed of rich red-yellow light, sign that he was also worried. "I suggest you to call Grimlock. Galvatron is upset and ready to lose his mind, which can be dangerous for our own troops. Besides, Megatron will be by his side," he advised. "And I am afraid of what he can do or who he will be ready to sacrifice to take Thanatron down."

"You're right." Optimus Prime quickly sorted out the various frequencies and picked up the Dinobots' leader. "Grimlock, can you hear me?"

_Me Grimlock, ready to listen to Optimus Prime. _

"Have you found the Insecticons?"

_No. The other Dinobots and me Grimlock are still searching on the forbidden area. _

That was not good news, but not a surprise. Shrapnel had been strolling along the tunnels of the base for at least twenty years. The labyrinth of pipes and panels had no secret for him.

"I see. Grimlock, I need you for another mission. You will depart in less than fifty minutes for a support mission to base 0022. Galvatron might be trouble for the course of the mission," Optimus explained. "The other Dinobots will keep searching the Insecticons."

_Me Grimlock, at Optimus Prime's command! _

The Com'link cut, leaving Optimus Prime in the silence. He leaned forward, hiding his face in his hands, as if all the problems of the world were weighing on his shoulders.

"I should go with Magnus instead of sending others to a possible death!" he sobbed.

"No, you shouldn't. You're the Lord of this base, and you're needed here," replied sternly Shockwave. "Rest a little, the others must not see you in such confusion. It would get them down."

With this cold advise, Shockwave left, abandoning Optimus Prime to his doubts.

O

The voices of Galvatron and Ultra Magnus died away as they headed in the opposite direction. Few meters ahead, Starscream was still walking at a good pace, refusing to look back or obey to his order to stop. Once he was sure that nobody could see them, Megatron seized him by the waist and pinned him gently but firmly against the wall.

"You're not in a condition to fight, Starscream." Megatron's voice was trembling. "I don't want to see you in a battle in which you won't be able to fight properly!" He lowered his head and brushed his lips against the dark helmet. "I don't want you to be in unnecessary danger," he whispered.

"I won't be in unnecessary danger." Starscream raised his chin and parted his lips as an invitation for a kiss. Megatron indulged, savouring the light flavour of energon and jet fuel in his mouth. He relaxed his grip on the smaller body, allowing Starscream to circle his back with his arms. "I need to fight, Megatron," he stated once they broke, "I need to win back some self-esteem as a warrior. I can't be the little Seeker in need of your protection and be laughed at by all the other Transformers for this weakness!"

"You're not weak, Starscream. You're ill and you-"

"Ill or weak, that's the same!" The flyer pushed on Megatron's chest to have him back off but the warlord refused to let go. "Can't you understand? I am a war machine, like you. I need the sound of explosions and the thrill of a deadly charge through enemy lines. I need to see the fear in my enemies' optics to remember who I am." His pressure on Megatron's chest tightened, "I know you're worried for me, but… let me go with you. I want to fight by your side, be your partner not only in your berth but also on the battlefield. That's the only way I can feel better," he completed.

"Starscream…" Megatron was at lost with what to say.

"Besides, do you seriously think I can sit in Ratchet's med bay, while you will be under the fire of Thanatron?" The dark faceplate of the Seeker expressed now a deep indignation. "You're not the only one who's afraid to lose his lover here!" he protested.

"Starscream." The warlord rested his chin on the smaller mechs' helmet and held him tight. "I've found you. I don't want to lose you anymore." he added, unaware that his embrace was now crushing. "I swear… You won't be allowed to fly more than two meters from me!" he added on the tone of capitulation.

The Seeker raised his head and cupped Megatron's face in his hands. Standing on his tiptoes, he kissed him lightly.

"I love you."

His whisper was welcomed by a warmer and longer kiss.

"I love you too."

Megatron knew he was breaking his commitment to not display signs of intimacy with Starscream, but it was stronger than him. He kissed the flyer with passion and briefly erased all knowledge of his surroundings, wrapping the slender form in his iron embrace. He eventually managed to regain his composure and broke the kiss as he recollected that his reputation of brutal warrior could be definitely compromised if somebody burst in this hallway.

"Where are you going, by the way? The launch pad is on the other direction," he whispered, abstaining from caressing Starscream's face.

"I need to pick up some antidotes for the Star Virus. I left them in my quarters."

Megatron's mood darkened a little at the evoking of this disease.

"You'd better pick some spare flasks at Ratchet's med bay. Your quarters are too far away."

"You're right. Let's go! We don't have so much time."

Starscream escaped his embrace and gave him a smile, inviting him to follow him. Megatron's spark tingled with joy when he saw the face of his lover enlightened again with happiness. Raising his head, he then made up a camera fixed to the wall, just above him. The device was functional, moving on his axe to better capture his image.

"Argh! Slag it!"

* * *

**Base 0025, Main Command Room**

The tender scene between the two Decepticons was properly broadcasted on one of the surveillance screens, but was completely unnoticed by Blurr and Blaster. The two robots were rigidly sat at their desk, analyzing as quickly as possible the situation at base 0022. Position of the enemies around the base, precise mapping of the area, possible battle plans… thousands of gigabytes of data scrolled before their optics, and the most useful, sent to the battle computer of the Atlantis, Ultra Magnu's space ship.

Meanwhile, they were also notifying orders of the mission to the selected mechs. Blaster had rapidly briefed Skywarp, Thundercracker and Dirge. As expected, the first had replied by giggling insanely, rejoicing about this new battle, which was a very Decepticon way of behaving. The two others had welcomed the news differently. Thundercracker had replied with a polite but sad "Yes sir", and Dirge had given out a deep sigh. He had never thought that Decepticons could display a so great difference in behaviour and that some of them could dislike battling. Maybe they were not all bloodthirsty brutes? _Maybe…_

A little thoughtful, Blaster roamed the various communication links and stopped at one of the mechs he had to call for the mission. His old foe; Soundwave.

* * *

**Base 0025, Soundwave's quarters**

His recharge time hadn't been peaceful. During the eight hours of inaction that he had allowed to his tired mechanism, Soundwave hadn't managed to offline completely. Guilt was a merciless hunter that never left the trail of his thoughts. He sat up on his berth, and grimaced at his system feedback, a painful saturation of his CPU activities. The question that had haunted him during the night was coming back and forth. _'Should I unveil my identity and my past sins to Megatron?'_

"Good morning Soundwave! Did you have a peaceful recharge?"

The kindness in the voice startled him. Looking down, he saw that his little Cassettes were all standing in rows in front of him, a mini-cube of energon in hands. Actually, only Rumble and Frenzy were handing their cubes; Lazerbeak, Buzzsaw and Ravage had set them on top of their heads.

"A little cube of energon?" Frenzy smiled openly. "We've just refined it to be sure it would be the highest quality!" he added.

Rumble trotted along and stopped at Soundwave's feet, holding up his mini-cube. "You should taste it! It's really excellent!"

The two eagles and the panther cackled joyfully as to emphasize those words. Soundwave sighed discreetly; the little ceremony had been taking place for five days, since his return from the med bay. He took the cube in his hands and unclasped his facemask, as he usually did when he was with his cassettes. They had been created a million years after he had joined the Decepticon army. The names of Mindtwister or High Guards had no meaning for them. Although he didn't need additional energy after his recharge, he swallowed it in a single mouthful. The little Cassettes were acting so because they were afraid to be abandoned again. Refusing their present would just result in unnecessary worries and anguish.

"Very tasty, indeed." He finally said. He didn't regret this lie when the energy fields of his Cassettes radiated with joy.

_Soundwave? Are you listening? This is a red code! _

True to his usual behaviour, Soundwave welcomed coldly the call of the Autobot Cassette deck.

"Excuse me," he said to the little robots, "What do you want, Blaster?"

_You're needed at the departure ramp 0065. Blast off within 30 minutes for support to base 0022._

Soundwave was a little taken aback by the suddenness of this mission, but he didn't mention it. He needed some action to distract his mind from his dark thoughts. "At your command!" he replied. "Can I bring also my Cassettes?"

The mentioned little bots stamped their feet in excitement at the idea they would be on a mission with their master.

_Only Buzzsaw and Lazerbeak. Send me Ravage and the twins. I have some interesting work for them._

"No way! We wanna go with you!" Rumble complained. The purple little bot was totally indignant.

"Out of question that we stay with the Autoboop!" Frenzy shook his head categorically, "We stick together!"

The assertion of the twins was emphasized by the outraged cackles of the panther and the two eagles. Soundwave, whose CPU was still pounding, decided to cut the protests short.

"Do as he says. You go to the command room!" he ordered.

"But Soundwave, we-"

"No protest Rumble. You do as requested."

The short purple bot sighed heavily, shoulders drooping dejectedly. He glanced at his twin, who mirrored his disappointed expression.

* * *

**Base 0025, Departure Ramp 65**

The tarmac of the departure ramp was cluttered with weapons and various materials when Megatron and Starscream arrived. The Seeker gave out a cry of surprise when he made out the massive form of the "Atlantis". As black as the base 0025 itself, the ship was wharfed to the ramp, projecting its dark shadow on its busy crew.

"It's a Salonian ship!" Starscream exclaimed. His wings quivered nervously.

"One of our best catches!" The two robots gazed at the green triple changer who gestured to his crew to load a set of cannons. "We're using it for travels between the two bases. The Stalkers never shoot at one of their ships," Springer added and then pointed at the far corners of the ramp. "Ultra Magnus is taking a stock at the situation. You might wish to join them."

"Indeed, I might."

Megatron beckoned Starscream to follow him and walked past Springer, heading to the group of robots who were gathered around Ultra Magnus. The Seeker nodded and then looked at the box he held in his hands.

"Can you embark this box as well?" he asked.

"No problem."

"Perfect."

The Seeker set the box on a crate and ran after Megatron, while Springer went back to carefully checking of the loading of the ship. Neither Starscream nor Springer had noticed the yellow optics glowing few meters away, behind a pile of crates.

O

Nightbird was fuming. She had planned to have a serious conversation with Megatron and Starscream, and obtain her apologizes within the end of the day, but she hadn't been able to approach them. Early in the morning, she had bumped into Rodimus Prime, who had sternly reminded her that revenge wasn't a solution. She had survived the boring sermon just to meet Cyclonus few minutes later. She had to admit that the Decepticon was more efficient and straightforward than the Autobot. His speech was reduced to a very simple warning: "Stay away from Megatron and Starscream, or I dismantle you. Orders of Galvatron."

This threat hadn't the anticipated effect; Nightbird was all the more decided to obtain apologizes from the two Decepticons, and by the same, disobey the orders of the Transformer that she loathed the most in this base, after Megatron and Starscream of course. Nightbird had felt an undivided hatred toward Galvatron since the very first sight. It was certainly due to the striking resemblance with Megatron. Moreover, the warlord hadn't polished up his image. Instead he made horrendous advances towards her a night he was overcharged.

'_Dirty old bot!'_

A wave of hatred swept over her at the recollection of Galvatron's hands running on her hips. She then watched Starscream setting the little box on a crate and running after Megatron. Her chance to speak with the two Decepticons was definitely compromised. She cursed the two Transformers and then glared at the little box; it was the standard one for the star virus's antidote. She smiled to herself when Springer walked away, leaving the precious object unattended. If she couldn't speak to the neurotic Air Commander, at least she could teach him a lesson. Having Starscream panicking because he had no antidote at hand would be priceless.

As agile as a cat, she smoothly left her hideout and took the box. In a few seconds, she was back behind the pile of crates. She opened one by one the flasks of antidote, and poured the precious liquid on the ground. Once the six recipients were empty, she set them back on their box, which she smoothly placed back on the crate.

Thrilled by the perspective of scarring Starscream to death, Nightbird threw a last glance to the Seeker's direction and exited the platform.

O

"I reached the base 0022 few minutes ago. They'll try to resist as well as they can, but the jet fighters can't take off. The main hangar and launch pad had been the first target of the attack." The expression of Ultra Magnus darkened even more. "The Salonians have been preparing this attack for a long time. They knew where to strike to paralyze base 0022," he stated.

"Better say that you weren't well organized!" Galvatron scoffed and then glanced at his approaching brother. "Looks like Autobots definitely need the Decepticon touch in this war!" he happily stated.

Ultra Magnus shot him a resentful glance and then glared at Megatron and Starscream. Saying that he disliked the two was an understatement, as he perfectly remembered the few times he had been on close contact with them on the battlefield. Megatron had once torn apart one of his arms, and Starscream had shot him in the back, barely missing his spark casing. However, old resents were untimely and the two Decepticons were over skilled warriors.

"The priority will be to free the jet fighters. There are at list 45 F-22, 25 F-35 and 34 Mirage 2000 in there. Once released, they will bring us a substantial fire power and help us efficiently to push back the enemy," he stated, forcing a neutral expression to appear on his features.

"What is the position of the enemies around the base?" Megatron asked, "Do you know the number of units involved?"

"250 units. It looks as if they encircle the base."

"I see. We have to find a strategy to break through their ranks if we want to free your Jet fighters," Starscream declared and then took a thoughtful expression. "Must be clever and imaginative if we don't want to break our nose cones against a wall of Stalkers," he completed.

"We have five hours to find it!" Ultra Magnus peered at Springer, who gestured from a distance, informing him that the boarding of the equipments was complete. "We can embark now," he informed.

* * *

**Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia**

That day, Nyxerys emerged slowly from her recharge. She knew that her son was already attacking the base 0022 and smiled in anticipation of the destruction inflicted to the enemy. She walked with no haste to her personal command room, converted into a kind of throne room, and took her time before switching on the giant screen that was set on the wall, opposite to her comfortable seat. Thanatron was a brilliant strategist, who always took his time before attacking, until he was sure that his plan was flawless, leaving no chance for the enemy.

The first images of the battle brought her a nice surprise; Thanatron hadn't take so much time to put the base to fire and sword. Oil drilling towers were falling here and there, in a hell of fire, smelting iron and dark clouds.

"Good job, my son," she cooed.

Really, this raid was very promising and as a movie, a delight to watch. She suddenly felt the need to make herself a little more comfortable, and clapped her hands. Few minutes passed before her personal slave, a femme with a pink paint-job, appeared.

"Yes, Mistress?"

"Bring me an energon cube." Nyxeris smiled lustfully, "The high grade energon from my personal cellar. Two or three cubes will be enough."

"Maybe you shouldn't drink so early in the morning…"

Nyxeris clenched her fist in anger, as she usually did when somebody reproached her addiction for high-grade energon.

"Who is asking you an opinion, you Autobot scum?" she shrieked, throwing her the remote control. "Bring it to me!"

The femme patted the side of her cask that had been hit by the object, and bowed in obedience.

"Yes, Mistress."

"You'd better be more cooperative, Elita, and learn to shut your mouth in my presence. I keep you only because Thanatron had something for you, but-" Nyxerys smiled insanely, "Piss me off again, and I blow you up, and send your head to your old bond mate with a complete explanation about your life after Cybertron's destruction."

The femme lowered her head, defeated.

"Now, go and bring me back some slagging energon!"

Nyxerys readjusted her position in her throne, watching her leaving. Once the pink robot was out, she sighed heavily.

"Why is there always somebody to spoil my moments of relaxation?"

* * *

**The Atlantis, ship of Ultra-Magnus**

The inside of the Atlantis seemed very familiar to Starscream and Megatron when they stepped into the ship. The inside had probably been refurbished so that a Transformer can stand and move without restriction of space. The roof was high enough to allow Skyfire to walk in without bending double. Megatron glared at him with hatred and seized Starscream by a wrist, urging to walk away from him. The Seeker complied, showing some surprise to this reaction.

"I am with you, not with him," he whispered. "You have to fear nothing."

"I know. It's just I don't like him."

Megatron didn't look at him. They were too many Transformers around them; showing any form of intimacy – and by the same weakness – was out of question.

By chance, Galvatron took everybody's mind off their worries by screaming horrendously once he made out the silhouette of a Transformer standing beside the command board.

"Grimlock, what the slag are you doing here!" Galvatron raised a furious fist. "I'm sure Optimus Prime sent you to spy on me! Argh!!" he barked.

"Me Grimlock, here to rescue Base 0022!" The Dinobot leader crossed his arms on his chest and stared defiantly at his counterpart. "Me Grimlock, don't care about Galvatron!"

"You'd better not stay on my way, you retard!" Galvatron waved insanely his hand at him, "And don't even stand around me, idiot!"

O

The tantrum of Galvatron was welcomed to decrease the pressure that Megatron's reaction had piled. His possessiveness toward Starscream was evident and all the onlookers had certainly noticed his jealousy toward Skyfire. The shuttle decided to stand at the far corner, at a good distance from the two Decepticons, in order to avoid a quarrel with Megatron.

Skyfire was well aware that the two had done more than socialize during the night. Starscream had been noisy enough to share his rapture with all the other Transformers. His ecstatic cries had raised memories of a time when the Seeker was flying by his side in the dark vastness of the universe. There had been a time those cries were rewarding to him, when he initiated Starscream to the pleasure of interface and spark merging.

This era was over, but surprisingly, he wasn't sad. Skyfire threw a discrete glance at a blue flyer and felt his spark tingling in excitement. Silent and calm, Thundercracker leant against a wall, listening carefully to the various conversations around him.

"Ready to take off!" warned Ultra Magnus.

The heavy carcass of the Atlantis moved off gently, shifting away from the launch pad. Once it was perpendicular to the base, powerful engines ignited, shaking the whole structure and then propelled the ship forward. It took only few seconds for the Atlantis to leave the base few kilometres behind.

Relaxed by the success of the take off, Skyfire looked back at the blue Seeker. Skywarp was now standing by the side of Thundercracker, certainly annoying him with his babbling. His mood darkened a little at this point; were they bond mates? They always stuck together: going at the same places at the same time, doing the same things... That was a point he had to clear up if he wanted to have a chance with Thundercracker.

Skyfire tried to imagine the various scenarios to approach Thundercracker and try to get his attention. Looking again in his direction, he caught the red gaze of the Seeker and felt again this pleasant tingle in his spark. He didn't understand why he was reacting like this. He had met Thundercracker countless times on the battlefield, but had never considered him as something else than a Decepticon to shoot down. Besides, Thundercracker was a rather discrete flyer in comparison to Starscream and the hyperactive Skywarp. Skyfire didn't have precise memories of those battles or remembrance of particular fight against him. He had never been interested in him before the previous day. Why was he falling so quickly for a Seeker he had never paid attention in the past?

Their gazes locked again. New tingle. Finally, Thundercracker looked away, listening distractedly to Skywarp.

'_Primus, it will be a real challenge!'_

O

"He! He! The guy is looking at you again!" Skywarp laughed openly, ignoring the glare of Cyclonus, annoyed by his cackling. "See! It's exactly what I have thought since yesterday, when he threw you this strange smile," he added at a lower voice.

Thundercracker's face expressed a deep annoyance that could match the expression of Galvatron's lieutenant.

"Warp', can you stop your nonsense? That's not the good time for your pranks," he hissed and then sighed; "Can't you be serious sometimes? I mean… We're going to face the enemy within a few hours, and some of us might die. You should be concentrating instead of telling craps!"

Skywarp shook his head negatively and set a hand on his wing mate's shoulder vent.

"TC, TC… TC! That's the difference between you and me. Before a battle, you always tell yourself that people might die. Me, I don't think about that, and I don't even care. I just need to entertain myself," he explained on an unusual serious voice. He then smirked, "But this is not a prank. Skyfire can't take his optics of you, pretty Seeker," he cooed. "Maybe it will be the occasion to find a new bond mate. You've been alone for too long a time, guy!" he added, hugging Thundercracker.

O

Skyfire lowered his head, feeling suddenly miserable. They were hugging… For sure, the two were bonded. He looked up and couldn't help throwing a desperate look at the object of his desire.

O

"Enough with your jokes, Warp'!" Thundercracker pushed on Skywarp's chest, obliging to step back, "Can't you stop your childish behaviour?" he barked. "Everybody is looking at us!"

"Not everybody. One Transformer is especially looking at you with a begging expression on his face," Skywarp retorted with a triumphing expression. "Poor boy, I hope you will grant him a chance after this battle."

"Warp', enough! You-"

Thundercracker couldn't finish his sentence as Skywarp grabbed his chin and forced him to look on Skyfire's direction. The expression of the shuttle moved him deeply; Skyfire was so sad, almost ready to cry. It was disturbing at the most.

"Enough, Warp'!"

The blue Seeker shoved him out of his way roughly and walked to a window, showing Skywarp his back. He also switched off his COM'link, in order to demonstrate to Skywarp that they were limits to his pranks. Although he wasn't sure this was a joke; on the right-top hand corner of the window, he watched the clear reflection of Skyfire looking at him with this so sad expression.

O

Megatron was relieved to see Thundercracker walking away from Skywarp, putting an end to their dispute. He ignored what it was about, and didn't care at all. He didn't want to offer to Ultra Magnus the image of a Decepticon alliance divided by personal quarrels, which was actually the case. Blitzwing and Astrotrain were peeping angrily at Galvatron, certainly planning revenge after he had done to Astrotrain a week before. Cyclonus was deeply irritated by Skywarp's childish way of behaving – but who could blame him?

"Megatron? Do you have a few seconds?"

The warlord looked up and stared at his former third in command. "What do you want?" he coldly asked.

"I'd like to speak with you… alone."

The two looked back at Starscream, who stepped back, suggesting he could leave.

"Starscream, you stay!" Megatron declared and then focused on Soundwave. "If you are planning to unveil whatever secrets about your identity, Soundwave, do it another day. I don't want to hear them right now."

The knees of the blue jet buckled involuntarily under the surprise, comforting Megatron in his opinion.

"At your command, Megatron," he lamely answered and then walked away.

O

"Why did you answer him that way?" Starscream seemed puzzled by his reaction. "What secrets are you talking about?"

Megatron smiled discreetly at him. "You don't remember, do you? Galvatron made the hypothesis that Soundwave has been hiding his identity since his arrival in the Decepticon army. Deep inside me, I think it's right," he stated and sighed. "I don't know why, but I'm sure he's right…"

"Then, why didn't you let him explain himself?"

Megatron lowered his head while his expression darkened a little more.

"It's just a premonition, but I have the feeling that learning about Thanatron's identity will destroy me. I don't need to discover another betrayal in my entourage."

**To be continued**


	24. Ch 24: A moment of glory

Thanks to all for the reviews on chapter 23. A little late, but here is the chapter 24. I hope you like… battles.

Thanks to Krystalmaze for the editing.

**

* * *

Chapter 24 – The Truth (3): a moment of glory**

**The Atlantis, ship of Ultra Magnus**

"Here is the latest and the most accurate mapping of the enemy position." Ultra Magnus paused until base 0022 appeared on the screen. "As you can see, the Stalkers encircled the base. There is one at least each ten meters. In these conditions, it will be difficult to pierce the enemy lines. We will break our nose against their wall."

All the other Transformers gathered around him, their gazes riveted to the screen.

"You're a wimp, Magnus!" Galvatron hissed. "Try to think as a warrior. We just have to force our way through their ranks by the power of our weapons and our bare hands!" he stated, crossing his arms on his chest with a scolding expression.

"Hum… Mighty Galvatron, may I-"

"That's idiocy!" retorted Megatron, cutting Cyclonus' polite attempt to explain his reservation about such a blunt plan. "If we try to push through their ranks from a single entry point, we will be surrounded and outnumbered. We have to be wiser and attack them from several sides."

"Me Grimlock, agree with Megatron. Although, don't like agreeing with Megatron!"

The two Con brothers glared at him with annoyance and threw him a joint "Shut up Grimlock!" that put the Dinobot leader on the defensive.

"I too agree with Megatron. We have to attack from every side," Starscream stated, getting closer to the screen. He then pointed at the sky above the base. "However, to be efficient, I'd suggest making some diversion to weaken their resistance."

"What kind of diversion?" asked Megatron. His voice betrayed his worry.

Starscream replied to him first by a smile, which transformed into his casual smirk when he realized all the attention was set on him.

"Well, Megatron… What if four Jet fighter Transformers attacked from the inside of the base, taking them aback and disturbing their perfect organization, leaving enough time to the other members of the crew to pierce their ranks… Hum?" he purred.

Murmurs of surprise first echoed in response to his incredible battle plan.

"And how would you reach the inside of the base?" Cyclonus inquired, very interested in the details.

"From the sky; the four Jets will have to fly at a very high altitude – maybe 7000 meters, like a Jet liner – and then swoop down quickly enough to avoid the radars of the Stalkers."

"That's suicide!" retorted Megatron, who had obviously understood Starscream's point.

"That's our only chance!"

The Seeker forced himself to look determined, although the worried expression of his lover moved him somehow.

"Let me guess… You will be one of the four potential suicides?" Galvatron chuckled and threw him an amused look, "I guess that there is at least one Transformer over here who won't agree with the plan," he cooed.

"There is no other way! If we don't do that, we're going to be outnumbered with no chance of turning the situation round in our favour!"

"That's indeed interesting and certainly not expected by Thanatron! I'm rather in favour of this plan…"

"Shut up Galvatron!" Megatron barked and then glared at his Seeker with an expression tainted of anger. "You're not going on a suicide mission! You stay by my-"

"I won't stay by your side doing nothing. Furthermore, it's not a suicide mission!" Starscream retorted. He then reduced the distance with Megatron and peered at him defiantly, as he used to do in the past. "Believe me, My Leader; attacking them from several points won't be enough. We have to destabilize them."

Surprisingly for the onlookers who hadn't been the witnesses of Megatron's recent changes of mind, the warlord stared at him with a pleading look.

"Don't-"

"I agree with Screamer!" Skywarp exclaimed and then walked to his former Air Commander. "I'm your man, as the humans say." He added triumphantly.

"I was about to ask you, actually." Starscream smirked and then looked at Thundercracker, "I'm sure you wanna come as well, don't you?" he asked joyfully.

The optics of the blue Jet's sparkled with excitement.

"A raid like we used to do when we were a trine? That's indeed very tempting…" Thundercracker replied.

"Meaning... Yes or no?"

"Yes, of course."

Starscream gave a triumphal smile at his former Commander.

"See, Megatron?"

"See what, idiot? That there are other fools to follow you?" Megatron retorted on the tone he used many years before. "And who's the fourth hothead who would accept to throw so recklessly his life?"

"Ahem… I think it's me."

Megatron glared at Dirge who had just talked, and then glared back at his Seeker.

"You're going nowhere without me!" he spat, towering menacingly over the rebellious flier. "We have already discussed about this before leaving the base."

"You decided for me, not discussed with me!"

O

Soundwave couldn't believe the scene that was playing before his optics. He suddenly had the feeling of being back in the old times when Starscream and Megatron were constantly bickering about the Decepticon leadership. This time was however not with nostalgia. Besides, he had to admit that Starscream's plan was dangerous but very clever and certainly effective.

"I think Starscream's right. We should let him operate as suggested…" he asserted.

Megatron threw him a glare as vindictive as a cannon shot.

"Shut up, Soundwave."

"I agree with the plan of your pet!" declared pompously Galvatron. He smirked when Megatron gave him a murdering look. "Come on, we need to be inventive on this battle. Besides, he's not made in jelly."

"Exactly!" Starscream's wings quivered in anger. "I'm an excellent warrior and not a pet or a weakling!" he shrieked. "I'm going to complete the mission with honour!"

"Shut up Starscream!"

"Enough!" Ultra Magnus, obviously annoyed by this love quarrel, walked to Megatron and stood in front of him. "I'm fine with Starscream's plan. Besides, we are far from claiming the upper hand in regards to the number of warriors!"

O

Ultra Magnus paused, trying to cool down. The so untimely bickering between the two Decepticons had driven him completely upset. His base was falling apart, burned by fire and destroyed by explosions. All the people he used to lead – and most of all, loved to meet – were dying under enemy bombs. His only wish was to find a solution to stop the slaughter and repel the invaders a good distance away from base 0022.

For this purpose, he had accepted having Megatron and Starscream on the mission. He had agreed to team up with two Transformers he considered as abject bastards. For what result? To see his hopes reduced to nothing!

He had sincerely believed that Megatron, true to his reputation of Tyrant, would crush their enemies without a second thought. Unfortunately, the Slag Maker had become the perfect caricature of a soppy lover so enamored with his sweet heart that he couldn't let him go few inches from him.

Fortunately, Starscream seemed to not totally appreciate this way of behaving…

"Shut up, Magnus!" Megatron growled.

Now, Optimus Prime's brother was tempted to smash his fist against the silver faceplate and stop this non-sense.

"I won't shut up. This is my base that his under siege. I do believe that Starscream's strategy to pierce the Salonian ranks will work. And if you try to stop him because you're too sentimental to let him go, I will stop you!"

O

'_Sentimental, me ?'_

Megatron stared at Ultra Magnus in shock, and then refocused on Starscream. The Seeker looked impatient, almost angry. He then understood how much he had changed during the last few days; for the very first time in eons, he had feelings for someone. He had forgotten for so long the meaning of love that now, he was the slave of his emotions. It was sweet but untimely. Besides, he had to behave as a warrior if he didn't want to lose face in front of his men. The point of this mission was to crush the enemy, and if possible, bring the Decepticons back to the leading position.

He had to let Starscream go.

"Perfect! Starscream can carry on with his plan." He stated through clenched teeth. He peered at his Seeker; "Try to bring honour to the Decepticons!" he threw as coldly as possible.

"At your command, Megatron!" The Seeker smirked proudly and then turned to his wing mates. "We leave thirty minutes prior to the arrival time at the base! Be ready!"

O

Silence ruled during the following hour. Megatron and Starscream pretended to ignore each other, which didn't change the scene a lot but at least, there were no more arguments.

"Thirty five minutes before reaching our target point!" warned Magnus.

"Perfect, we can go!"

Starscream beckoned his wing mates to follow him to the back of the Atlantis. Skywarp, Thundercracker, and Dirge followed him in silence, but their faces wore a deep determination. Slightly hesitant, Megatron followed close behind, imitated by Ultra Magnus and Galvatron.

"We don't need a good bye, you know. We will be back soon." Starscream stated after a few minutes.

"I'm not kissing you goodbye. I'm just here to encourage you on this raid!" Megatron replied dryly.

"Oh, you won't kiss me goodbye?"

The Seeker chuckled, which made Megatron growl in irritation.

"Some new bickering… The two love birds are so sweet," Galvatron cooed and jumped aside to avoid the fist of his brother.

"Idiot!"

"Mwah!"

They stopped in front of the rear gate. The heavy doors opened slowly on a cotton-wool sky, mixing subtle shades of blue and purple.

"Decepticons! Prepare for-"

Starscream didn't even give a cry as he was turned around and those silver lips crushed against his lip components. He didn't try to resist, leaning against Megatron's body and kissing back. Perhaps for the last time of his life.

"You'd better come back from this battle… safe and sound!" Megatron stated with a voice strained with emotion, "You would upset me if you died."

"I have to send you the same warning!" Starscream stepped back to return among his wing mates. He smirked and then threw a fist in the air, screaming: "Hail Megatron!"

The three Seekers stared at him in shock when Starscream turned to face them. Then they imitated him, chanting the slogan they use to throw at Autobots before charging at them.

"Hail Megatron!"

"Decepticons, attack!" Megatron shrieked in return, throwing his fist in direction of the sky. Excluding the presence of wings, he looked very much like his former self, cruel leader of the Decepticons leading the charge against Optimus Prime and his warriors.

Starscream was the first to transform to his Jet mode and took off at once, leaving few opportunities to the onlookers to admire his new F-22 form. Skywarp, Thundercracker and Dirge followed in a roar of engines, leaving Megatron alone at the edge of the departure ramp.

Behind him, Galvatron and Ultra Magnus were still standing side by side. Their faces showed very different feelings: Ultra Magnus was worried, Galvatron very satisfied. The purple Con crossed his arms on his chest and smirked devilishly.

"I like this!"

O

The four Jets flew vertically to the Atlantis, quickly gaining altitude. 2,000 meters. 5,500 meters… Their internal gauges started to spin until Starscream opened their COM' link.

_(That's enough. We will keep flying at 7,000 meters high. Reduce your speed to Mach 1, we don't need to arrive before the Atlantis.)_

_(At your Command, Screamer.)_

Skywarp chuckled happily.

_(It's Starscream, idiot, not Screamer! Show me a little respect on mission!)_

_(Ouch! Good old Screamer is back!) _

_(What have I just said Warp'? And now, shut your slagging vocal processor off. Radio silence until I give you the go for the raid!) _

_(At your command, my leader!) _

_(Warp!) _

**

* * *

In the sky of Base 0022**

It was 4:00 PM when the Salonian radars detected an Imperial destroyer heading to the besieged base. As he hadn't called for reinforcement, Thanatron immediately concluded that enemies were on board.

"Let them come. We will crush them one by one, as an example of our strength," he ordered calmly to his men, from his high position in the sky.

He smirked as the Atlantis emerged from the clouds and entered a darkened sky by the smoke of the drilling towers' fire.

O

"Here we are!" Megatron exclaimed and then turned to his men, ignoring blatantly the Autobots gathered around Ultra Magnus. The action of Starscream had totally boosted his morale, and he felt entrusted again with the leadership of his clan. "My fellow Decepticons, you will join this battle and do what you are best for; crushing enemies. Let's show them that we are not weaklings, that nobody can attack us and remain unscathed!"

In front of him, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Octane and Soundwave were looking at him with bright shinning optics. Galvatron and his two lieutenants seemed less spirit-lifted, but were listening very eagerly.

"You make no prisoner on the battlefield. You kill the Stalkers one by one, that's all, and you search for the next kill!" Megatron continued, pacing in front of his soldiers. "You slaughter them all, except Thanatron; that one is for Galvatron and me. Copied?"

"Yes sir!" the Decepticons replied all together.

"Excellent! And now…" Megatron's voice lowered before reaching to his most threatening frequency: "Decepticons, attack!"

Megatron jumped into the dark sky without looking back. He didn't transform to his alt mode and pushed on his antigravity system to fly away from the ship. He soon heard the familiar noises of transformation followed by a thunder of engines. A cruel smirk appeared on his lips; he knew that his Decepticons would follow him. He had read in their optics this good old addiction for battle and violence, their eagerness to regain their position of rogue and feared warriors. He had selected them millions of years ago, knowing very well what was hiding deep in them; the power of giving deactivation. Optimus Prime had managed to wipe it out during twenty years, but it had taken a few minutes, a few words to bring them back to their real selves. They were Decepticons; he was the leader of them.

He was the king of the Decepticons. And the king had now a prince…

A prince he wouldn't let die.

O

"I don't like that."

Ultra Magnus looked back at Springer and nodded his agreement.

"I know. He's behaving as if we were back at the time of the war between Decepticons and Autobots. I hope this is not the premises of a new war between Cybertronians."

"I hope not."

"Anyway... We have to deal with the on-going raid," Ultra Magnus stated and then opened his COM'link; "Starscream, do you hear me?"

The Air Commander replied immediately.

_(Do we have a go?)_

"You have. Good luck."

_(Luck has nothing to do in this battle; it's a question of skill, speed and firepower.)_

The COM' link cut, leaving the two Transformers ill at ease.

O

Starscream scanned closely the data fed back by his radars. The other Transformers had deployed in the West, covering a distance of two kilometres. He and his team had to fly and attack the Stalkers from behind to crush their defence.

_(We have the go. Initiate the dive. Maximum speed!)_ he warned.

_(Hey, Screamer, wait for us!)_

Thundercracker's panicked remark made him realize that he had dived very abruptly and in two thrusts of his engines, had left his wing mates far behind. The air deliciously caressed his frame and the sensation of speed was thrilling. He was again the star of the sky, the perfect predator ruling his celestial kingdom with a frightening grace and a demoniac skill. He was Starscream, the most perfect aerial warrior born from the Cybertronian technology. He was unmatched by any other Transformer, not to speak of the Salonian Stalkers.

He would kill them all.

_(Screamer! You're going too fast for us!!!)_

_O_

Thanatron smirked when he saw the deployment of the Transformers on the West of the base. It would be easy to overcome them by sending the Stalkers stationed on the North or the South. They were simply stupid to attack in one point.

"Today is the day you will stop to resist, my friends." He murmured and then laughed, satisfied by the evolution of the attack.

He suddenly caught the characteristic whizzing of Jets' engines coming from the overcast sky above him. He looked up, eyes trying to pierce the thick white clouds.

"What the slag-?!"

A real thunder covered his cry of surprise. He saw a red, silver and blue shape swooping down, almost grazing his left shoulder with a wing, followed by three other Jets. Thanatron felt a pang in his spark as he recognized the Air Commander of the Decepticon army.

"That's impossible!" He shook his head in shock. "It can't be… I buried him at the bottom of the ocean!"

His worse nightmare was becoming a reality. He scanned feverishly the attacking Transformers and focused his attention on a silver white winged robot. He hadn't taken in any detail but, now that he looked more carefully… His features had something of the Transformer that he hated the most. And by the same, looked very similar to his own face.

"Megatron?"

**

* * *

Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia**

"Megatron!"

Nyxeris' fingers contracted so hard on the energon cube exploded with a loud bang. The black femme didn't flinch at the pain when two fingers broke in the explosion. She looked with hatred at the screen, glaring at the white Transformer who was charging at her Stalkers.

"Now, I understand why you didn't want to come back to Earth, my son…" she hissed. "You told me that you had extinguished their sparks. You lied to me!"

**

* * *

In the sky of Base 0022**

"Decepticon attack!"

Starscream transformed to his robot mode, landing feet first in the chest of two Stalkers. He fired at two others and transformed back to his Jet form, blasting with his engines a fifth Salonian robot.

_(Screamer, leave some Stalkers to your wing mates!)_ Skywarp protested, landing the same way on a black robot.

His Air Commander was however not listening. Switching with an incredible speed between robot and Jet modes, he blasted mercilessly the Stalkers that were in his way.

_(Who said he was sick?)_ Thundercracker smashed against a Stalker and clawed at him, taking hold of his arm and forcing him to shoot at three other robots. When they were all shot down, he pushed him forward and shot him in the chest.

"Megatron, I think…" Skywarp replied and then buried his fist on the cockpit of an enemy. "He's worrying too much."

"He's in love…" The blue Jet released one of his air-air missile on a gathering of four Stalkers. "That's rather unexpected from him, but sweet." The blast of the explosion sent parts of Salonians all around them.

"Nice shot."

"Thank you."

O

The attack of Starscream and his wing mates led to the expected effect; the Stalkers froze for a few astroseconds, taking the time to analyze the situation and prepare a counter-attack. A time span that the attacking Transformers took advantage to hit hard; Megatron slammed into three Stalkers, damaging them by the simple power of the shock, while he shot blindly his two fusion cannons. Galvatron imitated him, yelling insults that were nonetheless covered by the racket of the battle.

Attacking the same area, Cyclonus and Scourge struck with equal violence and firepower. Forgetting their relative dislike for Starscream and his wing mates, they decided to support their efforts by sandwiching up the Stalkers who were dealing with the four Jets. The strategy paid; in a few breems, at least twenty Stalkers were deactivated, opening a gapping hole on the defensive wall of the Salonian army.

The large opening in the Stalkers' defence gave an idea to Blitzwing, who reached the two other members of his trine.

_(Astro! Octane! What about having some fun playing the snipers?)_

Astrotrain chuckled darkly, evidence that he liked the suggestion.

_(Good idea. It has been a long time since we last plaid the hide and seek game with those heaps of scrapped metal!)_ Octane replied.

The three triple changers fired when approaching the breech in the Salonian's rank, destroying four additional Stalkers. Then they dived and transformed mid-Air into their robot forms, weapons aimed at their enemies in order to protect their descent. Once they were at the satisfying altitude, they changed to their non aerial mode. Astrotrain landed with a happy "chow chow!" in the ruins of a drilling tower and sent flying girders and the remains of a chimney as he drove to the safety of another tower, in fire but still standing. Octane stopped at another drilling tower and hastily pumped the black gold that purred from its cracked flanks. Meanwhile, Blitzwing took cover behind the wreck of a factory-plant.

_(Ready guys?)_ he asked.

_(Octane, ready!)_

_(Yep, Astrotrain ready!) _

_(Fire at will!) _

Back to his robot mode and sheltered by the shattered drilling tower, Astrotrain fired heavily at a group of Stalkers, killing three and wounding two others. Octane drove to an open space from which he aimed one of his hoses, spitting a torrent of fire created with the crude oil he had stored in his tanker. The Stalkers flew away like frightened birds but then had to face the heavy fire of Blitzwing. Blinded by the thick curtain of smoke and fire created by Octane, the Stalkers couldn't spot him and even worst, couldn't avoid his blasts. One by one, the Salonian robots fell.

Once they were no more Stalkers to shoot down on the area, Blitzwing called his trine mates.

_(The area is clean. Let's find new games…)_

O

Grimlock grew pissed of as he watched the devastation brought by the Decepticons in only twenty breems. Dismembered bodies of Stalkers were falling here and there, emerging from clouds of smoke and fire, falling down on the dark sea stained with petroleum, or on wobbly drilling towers, creating more explosion, fire and smoke. This vision of hell didn't move him however. The growing panic of the Stalkers built a big hole in his pride and his warrior's ego, as large as the breech in the Salonian ranks; the Decepticons hadn't waited for him to massacre this squadron, and at this pace, wouldn't leave a piece of Stalker to play with!

"Me Grimlock, want little Stalkers to toy with!"

Reaching the top of irritation, Grimlock decided that entering the battle through the breech created by the Decepticons wouldn't be fun enough. He scanned another group of a dozen of Stalkers, some two hundred meters from the battlefront, who were trying to fire at the enemies while keeping their far position.

"Perfect!"

The Dinobot pushed on his antigravity system and aimed his weapon at his prey, which watched him coming with a horrified look on their insectoid optics. Was it the reverse on this battle that left them so powerless and apathetic? They didn't try to avoid him. Grimlock slammed into them, sending them flying around him under the violence of the shock.

"Strike!" the Dinobot leader shrieked with a ferocious joy.

O

Thanatron was rooted to the spot by what had happened in the last twenty breems. The Transformer he hated the most was back on the battlefield. His little bitch was here as well. Moreover, they had managed to destroy at least a fourth of his squadron in no time.

"I can't let them win. No! Never!" he groaned.

His fuel pomp was hammering too fast, and his energon, boiling in his pipes. He banged his fists in the desperate attempt to push away the urge to swoop down on the battle and attack blindly. He would certainly die if he followed that deadly instinct; he had to find a strategy to counter those well-organized enemies.

"Hit the weakest first… the weakest ones."

A little calmer, Thanatron scanned carefully the new geography of the battlefield. Four Transformers Jets were still battling above the main drilling towers, slaughtering methodically the Stalkers around them thanks to their speed and quick transforming. On the periphery, Megatron, Galvatron and two other flyers were gaining ground thanks to their heavy firepower. Right beneath them, a cloud of fire, smoke and laser blasts was creeping among the wrecks of plants and hangers. How many Transformers were hidden behind this black screen? In doubt, it was better to not attack them alone. Far away, a big Transformer was fighting alone against a grape of Transformers. According to his easiness to sweep away the black robots, he wasn't the weakest among the attackers. There was also a white shuttle in its vicinity. On the west position, a Jet and two other smaller planes were trying to enlarge the breech.

No, the ones ha had to get rid off first were those four Jets. Looking back to the quartet led by Megatron's bitch, he saw that the blue one was battling a little aside of his companions.

"At last, the weakest…"

Thanatron switched back to his alt-mode – a Cybertronian jet – and swooped down, his radars set on Thundercracker.

O

Skyfire was hesitant to join the battle directly. As a former neutral, fighting was an unnatural behaviour that he assumed only when he had no other choices. Thus, he decided to stay aside the battle and support Grimlock from a distance. Besides, from his position, he could watch the progression of Thundercracker. The Jet was doing fine, avoiding fire with talent and skilfully shooting down his opponents. He didn't need his help at all. It made Skyfire happy and relieved, but on the same time, a little disappointed. He had hoped to take the profit of this battle to fight by his side and appeal to him, but this plan was a total failure.

_(Skyfire, go away! Me Grimlock, don't need help!)_ warned the Dinobot as he decapitated a Stalker with his bare hands and threw the body on two approaching black robots.

Skyfire sighed and then focused his attention on Thundercracker, trying to quickly sort a plan to go through the Salonian ranks to help him. He immediately scanned the shape of a Cybertronian Jet that was approaching the blue F-15 Transformer at high-speed. His internal computer couldn't match his energy signature with one of the 525 Transformers officially recorded in the database of the resistance army.

It was an enemy.

_(Thundercracker! Go away!)_ he shouted through the COM' link.

The blue jet didn't respond to his warning, still oblivious of the deadly danger heading to him. Skyfire decided to warn him by himself. He switched to his shuttle mode and then firing his lasers at the Stalkers in front of him, opened his way into the battlefield.

O

Thundercracker shot down a Stalker, and once he was sure it had been deactivated, kicked him out of his way, targeting the two others that had followed him. To his surprise, the two robots had stepped away, looking up with expecting optics.

"What the slag!" he shrieked.

He heard the roar of engines followed by the characteristic noise of transformation, and turned around to check which of his wing mates had come to his help. He shrieked in pain when a fist dug in his cockpit and stared with surprise and horror at the face of Megatron. Once his logic system overcame the shock, he realized who he was dealing with.

"Thanatron?"

The Salonian General smirked and then withdrew his fist, tearing away a great part of Thundercracker's wiring. The blue jet howled in pain while his sight darkened and his audio processors shut down. He felt energon pouring in his chest cavity from the broken pipes, short-circuiting everything inside.

"Brilliant deduction, smart ass. Unfortunately too late, you're already dead."

Thundercracker shrieked again in pain as Thanatron dug his hand on his chest, aiming at his spark. Pipes and circuits around his casing broke, causing a so intense and unbearable pain that Thundercracker fainted.

O

"Thundercracker, no!"

Starscream stopped his frenetic transformations and shooting when he heard Skywarp screaming the name of their wing mate. When he looked at the direction the purple jet was heading to, he clearly scanned the form of Thanatron, arm dug in Thundercracker's chest.

"You bastard!" he shrieked and then opened his COM' link; _(Warp', stay were you are. Don't approach him!)_

Skywarp ignored the advice and instead flew full speed at the General. Thanatron saw him coming, perfectly; he let Thundercracker's limp body fall into the sea and took advantage of Skywarp's transformation into robot mode to catch one of his legs. Skywarp tried to shoot at him and kick, but Thanatron punched him in the face, dazzling him for long astroseconds. He then twirled on himself, like a shot putter, and once he had reached a sufficient speed, threw Skywarp on the air. The jet screamed, but totally destabilized, couldn't ignite his thrusters or transform back to his Jet mode. He crashed loudly in the middle of hangers, raising a column of dist as the structure half collapsed on him.

Dirge was the next victim of Thanatron. The Cone head perfectly understood that he was no match for the Salonian general and tried to pull out, but too late. Thanatron caught his tail and clawed at his right wing. He dug his fingers in the plating and with a bestial cry, tore it apart. Dirge switched back to his robot mode, seized by both panic and pain, began to trash and kick frantically. Thanatron watched him, obviously enjoying the deep fear of his prey, until his gaze stopped on Starscream, who was struggling with two Stalkers. He punched Dirge in the face, sending him crashing to the ground, and then shrieked; "Come Starscream. I'm waiting for you!"

The Seeker felt his energon boiling in rage and shot his two direct opponents with a rare violence. The path leading to Thanatron was now clean, leaving two choices; helping one of his wing mates or fight against the General.

'_Don't be stupid. He will attack you if you try to help them, like he did with Skywarp trying to help Thundercracker. I'll shoot him down first!'_

There was no hesitation left in his spark: only hatred.

O

"Starscream, stay where you are!" Megatron shrieked, to no avail.

The Seeker transformed to his F-22 mode and flew full speed at his target, sending one of his rockets as an introduction, which Thanatron avoided very easily. Megatron first thought that Starscream would collide with Thanatron but the Seeker switched suddenly to his robot mode. He clawed at Thanatron, punching his faceplate like possessed. The Salonian General seemed totally taken-aback, leaving some hope for Starscream's victory.

A curtain of fire and smoke hid the scene and Megatron grunted in irritation. He fled through it but was stopped by a Stalker, who clawed at his left cannon. He swept him away with a punch, and searched hastily the exit to these dark clouds.

Once he was out, his worst nightmare had become reality.

O

Starscream hissed in pain as Thanatron's fingers crushed his throat with a vice-like grip. His self-confidence fell when he saw the harsh features coming closer to him. A cruel smirk outlined Thanatron's lips, making him look like the perfect clone of the Slag Maker. He was the copy of Megatron at the worst time of their relationship.

"You're not bragging anymore, little bitch, hum?!" Thanatron hissed. His voice pattern was close to Megatron's and Galvatron's, although deeper and less grating.

As a response, Starscream sent his knees into Thanatron's canopy, shattering the glass. The General moaned in pain and tightened his pressure around his neck as revenge. Starscream stopped struggling, admitting defeat.

Not able to use his vocal processor, he reached Thanatron through his Com'link.

_(Who are you? How do you know me?!)_

_(I was watching you, bitch! All the time!)_

_(What?)_

_(You took him away from me. You took my place as his son, and then, you took the place of my mother in his spark! I should have killed you last time!)_

Starscream clawed at his wrists, like he used to do when Megatron strangled him in the past.

_(I don't understand what you are talking about!)_

_(Too bad, because I won't leave you time to think about it!)_ Thanatron held him with an outstretched arm and set his cannon against his chest, aiming at his spark. _(Today, I will punish you for everything you have taken away from me.)_

**To be continued…**


	25. Ch 25: Collateral Damages

Here is the update of the story. Like Vicious Circle, it has been hard to save some hours to write a new chapter because of my work.

Many thanks to Krystalmaze maze for editing the text in a record time!

* * *

**Chapter 25: The truth (4) – Collateral damages**

Skyfire emerged from the thick cloud and transformed in robot mode. He had expected to be attacked by other Stalkers, but none of the robots had followed him. He found the reason very quickly; Thanatron. The Salonian General was holding Starscream by the throat, targeting at point blank range his chest. The first thought of the shuttle was that he had to help him, but he quickly changed his mind; Thanatron would certainly execute Starscream if someone came to his rescue. The Seeker was the only one able to escape such a terrible fate. Megatron had certainly come to the same conclusions and was hovering at good distance, flying up and down like a caged vulture.

"Sorry, Starscream. I can't do anything for you. You have to save yourself!" he murmured.

He couldn't save the Seeker, but rescuing one of his wing mates was a task he felt ready to fulfill. He threw a last glance at his former lover and wished him good luck before swooping down to the sea, where Thundercracker had disappeared.

O

The thoughts of Starscream were racing at the speed of the light. He had stopped squirming, as it only annoyed Thanatron and besides, a plan was taking form on his imaginative CPU. He hung still, the barrel of the fusion cannon menacingly set against his chest.

_(And Now, Starscream, time for punishment!)_

The warlord stared at his optics and grinned cruelly while he powered his weapon.

_(Wait! Before you kill me, tell me what I've taken away from you!)_ Starscream retorted, trying to buy some time.

_(You had everything from Megatron. He gave you the attentions of a father and ultimately, gave you his love. You, a whining little bitch that only had a pretty face and an attractive body!)_

_(It's you who tricked me, in the basement of the Decepticon Academy, isn't it?)_

Thanatron smiled cruelly.

_(I pretended to be Galvatron. That was easy; I resembled him. Besides, I knew how Galvatron and Megatron had betrayed each other. I just had to add some details to the story, and you ate it all.)_

The Seeker clawed at the cannon once the pressure on his throat became too heavy. He had to do something, without delay. Nobody would come to his rescue in the fear that Thanatron would execute him; he would earn his salvation by himself.

_(Enough talking!)_ The weapon emitted the so characteristic noise, signaling it was completely loaded. Thanatron's optics flashed a dangerous red as he also noticed also the hiss_. (Now, face your termination!)_

_(Go and slag yourself!)_

Still firmly gripping the cannon, Starscream sent his knees into Thanatron's stomach; strongly enough to have the general loosen the grip on his neck. He slammed his fist into the face of the mech, who released him under the surprise of such combativeness. Starscream immediately took this advantage to transform into his jet mode and avoid the shot from the fusion cannon that grazed at his tail.

_(Now, catch me if you can!)_ he hissed, orienting his body so that he had his thrusters spitting fire in Thanatron's face.

O

The Salonian General screamed in pain as his dermo-plating reacted immediately to the heat, and flew backwards to avoid being more damaged. However, rage was still rushing through him, requesting immediate revenge for this new provocation from the Seeker. He wiped away the metal droplets that leaked from the clocked plating and transformed to his alt-mode, flying full speed after Starscream. The former Decepticon commander was heading to the heart of the base, slaloming between canyons of drilling towers, flames and hangers.

_(You think you can defy me? Beware; I'm a merciless hunter!)_ he warned through the COM'link.

_(I'll show you I am not just a pretty face!)_

O

Megatron had tried to reach his Seeker countless times through the COM'link, but Starscream had cut the transmission as the sign he wanted to fight by himself.

"You don't have to do that to prove you're a good warrior, Starscream!" he growled, feeling more helpless and useless than ever. "I know it and love you for that!"

The noise of a fusion cannon powering reached him despite the distance, together with the vibrations of Thanatron's energy field. It was exactly like his own frequencies before the kill, leading him to the troubling conclusion the Salonian general was definitely a member of his family.

Fortunately, Starscream made an unexpected and audacious move. While Megatron thought the Seeker had no way to save himself, he put Thanatron under the torment of the fire of his thrusters. Megatron couldn't help admiring his crazy and perverse genius as the injured Thanatron backed out, but shuddered as the enemy transformed and chased the Seeker.

"Touch him… Touch an inch of his plating, and I'll tear you apart, Thanatron! Whoever you are towards me!" he swore.

For the first time, he did what he had refused to do from the time he had come back to life: transforming to his alt mode. He switched to his shuttle mode and flew full speed after the two Transformers.

O

Galvatron watched apprehensively as his brother transformed to his alt mode to stalk his lover and his pursuer. He had studied very closely his energy field, and what he had caught was only anger and emotions. It was not the first time he had felt this irrationality in his brother; Megatron had once been in love a long time ago, while their creator was still the king of the arena. He had seen Megatron, his idol, doing stupid things and stop thinking for the softness of his lover's arms. Megatron had ended up feeling the bitterness of loss once the Autobots' authority had sent the two lovers in the arena, fighting against each other. Megatron had won, and his hatred towards the Autobots had born while he was crying over the body of his dead lover. Consequently, Galvatron had stopped believing that rationality and integrity were leading each Transformer on Cybertron, and had developed his tortured personality. His supposed craziness was the best defensive shell he could build, and only Megatron could go through to him.

'_My brother.'_

A shot grazed at his cheek, reminding him that he was not in this past, but on the battlefield of the base 22, and that he had enemies to dispose of. He shot the Stalker that had attacked him and checked once again the position of his brother.

_(Cyclonus! Scourge! You keep the area clean of Stalkers. I have business to carry on!)_ he ordered through the COM'link and then engaged his thrusters, flying in the directions of the three other Transformers.

* * *

Skyfire searched for traces of greenish fluid in the water tainted with dark oil and various solvents. He finally detected a green trickle floating from a sandbank; Thundercracker lay there, showing no sign of life. The shuttle hurried to his side and felt a small relief when he saw a weak light in the optics of the wounded Seeker. First he ran a scan of the damages, which reported an alarming conclusion; the spark casing was half torn from the cavity, only retained by a few wires. It was a miracle if Thundercracker was still alive, but it wouldn't last long.

_(Don't worry; I'm here to help you!)_ he said through the COM'link, not really sure that Thundercracker was aware of his presence.

He seized delicately the Seeker by the waist and set a palm over his opened chest so that the spark casing didn't separate from his body, and swam slowly to the surface. He reappeared in a hell of burning oil and floating carcasses of Stalkers. He lifted the Seeker on a floating dock, still holding a hand on his spark; he turned him over to drain the water and other fluids out of his chest cavity. Thundercracker moaned softly in pain and lost consciousness again. Once no liquid was left, he laid him on the back and scanned closely the damages. Several broken pipes were leaking energon, his fuel pomp was gored and his spark casing almost detached from his body. In other words, Thundercracker would quickly lose his vital energy and die if an external source of energy didn't take over.

"Don't worry, I won't let you die, Thundercracker," he murmured as he traced affectionately the features of the wounded mech with a delicate thumb.

He heaved himself by the side of the Seeker, and delicately lifted him up to lay him a few meters, where a high wall hid their forms. Skyfire needed some calm to work on the patches of Thundercracker.

"It's going to sting a little," he warned, starting to weld a pipe that poured liquid on the weakly glowing spark casing.

Thundercracker gave out a faint cry and fell back to the darkness of stasis, leaving Skyfire to his task. Skyfire welded the other pipes, cut the electricity supply to the damaged circuits and patched the fuel pomp with a remarkable precision and quickness in regards to the conditions. He knew very well that his work wasn't as good as what Ratchet could do but at least, it would secure the Seeker's vital prognosis for a few hours. Once he was finished, he contemplated with hesitation Thundercracker's life core; he would have never thought that he would see it so soon, and even less, do what he was going to do.

"I'm sorry, Thundercracker, I don't have any other options to save you," he spoke to the flyer.

Skyfire opened with a trembling hand his cockpit and had an internal panel shifting, unveiling his spark. He drew two wires from his spark casing, which he connected to the Seeker's dying spark. Thundercracker's life core immediately glowed of a more vivid blue, allowing the Seeker to regain some consciousness.

"Good, Thundercracker. You're doing fine!"

He was startled when he heard the noises of engines and heavy bodies landing on water. He couldn't see anything because of the wall and the smoke, but he knew Stalkers were coming to finish them. He lifted Thundercracker and cradled him in his left arm, trying to arrange him comfortably against his shoulder, while he seized his riffle and held it firmly.

Thundercracker nodded gently as he regained consciousness. A trembling palm caressed the plating of his ribs, making him shiver.

"Who… Who?" the exhausted Seeker murmured as he looked up, "Sky… Sky-fire?" he stuttered.

The shuttle gave him a warm and reassuring smile.

"You don't have to worry, Thundercracker. I won't let anybody harm you again," he assured.

A Stalker stood in front of him; for once, Skyfire fired with a real intention to kill.

* * *

"TC?"

Skywarp shook his head in order to clear his mind and stop the ringing bell in his CPU. Once he felt a little better, he pushed away the scraps that covered him and scanned his surroundings; fortunately, he was alone. No Stalker had followed him to finish him off. Not yet.

"Thundercracker?" he called.

He was answered by the noise of an explosion, reminding him that the battle was still raging around and in the base 0022. Stalkers would certainly come after him very soon, he reflected. However, he was less concerned by this possibility than by the absence of reply from Thundercracker. He tried the COM'link, but his wing mate didn't respond. Skywarp concentrated on scanning the energy fields of the mech involved in the attack and detected Thundercracker's weak aura. If he was right, Skyfire was very close to him. The Seeker sighed as he felt relieved that his friend had been rescued. He had been so terrified and felt so powerless when he had witnessed the damages inflicted on Thundercracker.

"Boy, you're lucky to have a so enamored suitor!" he even joked, trying to take heart.

Even if the question of Thundercracker's survival was temporarily solved, he still had a duty to accomplish: fighting the Stalkers to the very last swirl of energy in his spark. He braced himself to transform and take off when a voice reached him.

"No! Leave me alone!"

It was a robot's vocal frequency as Skywarp clearly identified. Besides, if his audios weren't damaged, he would say it was the voice of a femme, who seemed to be in danger.

"Stop this, you slagging Stalkers!"

The voice was conveying all the fear and panic of its owner. More out of curiosity than pity, and galvanized at the idea to eradicate more Stalkers, Skywarp dashed in the direction of the cries. He ran passed the walls of the hangar he had fallen into, and penetrated another one. He immediately caught sight of the shapes of three Stalkers, surrounding a pink femme who had fallen to the ground and was trying to protect herself from the kicks of her aggressors. The Seeker recognized her at once, given that he had crossed her path on the battlefield several times. He perfectly remembered the insults the hot chick had thrown him, focused on his lack of intelligence. He ignored what she was doing here, knowing this would be the good occasion to humiliate her back. 'Revenge is a dish best eaten cold', he thought as he advanced towards the Stalkers, still oblivious of his presence.

"Hey! Pick somebody of your one size!" he shouted.

A first Stalker turned around to face him and exploded with a loud bang as he was shot in the chest. Prompt to react, Skywarp shot his two riffles with a terrifying precision, sending the two others to the ground, with their cockpits exploded. The Seeker welcomed the fall of his enemies with a satisfied smile and stood in front of the femme, who kept her head lowered, shivering with fear.

O

The kicks had stopped and the three Stalkers were lying on the ground, deactived. She concluded that an ally had come to her rescue, but something deep within her screamed in fear. Her data bank warned her that this signature was well known, leaving her to the conclusion she had already felt this energy field on a battlefield. It wasn't an ally who was standing in front of her: it was a Decepticon.

"Look who's here!" A grave voice rang in her audios.

She was suddenly raised from the ground and cradled within strong arms. Ashamed, she looked at the silver face adorned with a scolding smirk. Her hand grazed at a purple wing as she realized her demise.

"Isn't that Arcee?" the Seeker cooed. "The hot Autobot femme soldier Arcee, who used to insult me each time we met on the battle field?" he added and then gave her a nasty smirk.

"Let me down!" she replied. "LET ME DOWN!!"

"As you wish!"

Skywarp let her fell to the ground in an ungracious heap; Arcee crawled on the dust to get away from this unwelcome savoir. Skywarp and her had a long history of insults on the battlefield, and knowing the moron, she feared that he wanted to shoot her. The action of Skywarp confirmed her fear; he seized her ankle and pulled her to him, adding more dents to her dusted paint job when she slid on the stones. She turned over and faced him with a disgusted expression.

"Leave me alone, you stupid bastard!"

"Polite and subtle as ever, aren't you, Arcee?" Skywarp retorted, "What are you doing here?" he asked, tilted his head as to better observe her long, slick legs.

Arcee felt uneasy at the red gaze undressed her pink plating.

"I was on the bunker over there!" she replied, pointing at a tumulus a few hundred meters away, "I saw a jet former falling in the hangar. I wanted to help… I didn't know it was you!" she completed, breathless.

"Because if you had known, you wouldn't have helped, would you?"

"No… Yes… Maybe," she stuttered, "Now, let me go!"

"Hum, I don't know…" the Seeker replied with a thoughtful expression, which suddenly fell as he jumped and tackled her to the ground, "face down!" he shrieked.

Arcee pushed a cry as the heavy Seeker pinned her. She tried to move out but was totally paralyzed by Skywarp's greater weight. She had her face on his neck, his cockpit was pressing on her breastplates and his hips took on the shape of hers. Her mind raced as awful images started to challenge her cold blood. _'No! Tell me he's not going to-!'_

"No! No! Leave me alone, you Decepticon bastard!" she screamed in panic, trashing beneath the Seeker.

"Shut up, Autobot femme! Other Stalkers are coming, and they hadn't spotted us yet!" Skywarp retorted, moving his arms forward to point his riffles at the new comers. "You want us to be killed or what? Leave me a chance to ambush, you stupid!"

The explanation didn't reassure Arcee to the least, but she chose to comply with the order to keep silence, just in case the brute had told the truth.

O

Skywarp exulted with joy. He had two Stalkers on target, and the two glitches were totally oblivious that deactivation was awaiting them, hiding a few meters away. Cherry on top, he had the hot Autobot femme soldier Arcee pinned beneath him, which plunged her into a deep fear and shame according to the sporadic frequencies of her energy field. For a prankster like he was, this was an enjoyable situation, enhanced by the chaos of the battle. _'Back at the good old days of the war!'_ he rejoiced, feeling the excitement of the predator before the killing rising in his body.

Fortunately, the femme was now silent, and the two Stalkers kept walking in their direction, scanning the wreckage of the industrial building. One of them finally caught the sight of the ambushed Seeker but his reaction was too slow to protect himself from the shot that tore his chest apart. His neighbour wasn't any luckier as another shot hit his cockpit, killing its pilot.

Skywarp lowered his weapon and propelled on his elbows, looking down at the shaken femme he had crushed in a very shameful position on the dusty ground. He grinned wickedly as a cutting tirade came up to his mind.

"Sorry, pet, I don't have time for this right now," he giggled as he came to a seating position, still imprisoning her hips between his thighs. "Maybe later…" he added with a triumphal smirk and a knowing look, roaming from her breast to her lower body. "If I have nothing else to do, of course."

The face of Arcee burned with shame and humiliation. What a complete victory! Skywarp felt so boosted that he jumped to his feet and ran to the most cleared area to take off.

O

Arcee watched the Seeker running away and finally transform back to his F-15 mode, heading full speed to the heart of the aerial battle. She sat on the dust and tried to cool down her systems, disoriented after those long minutes of fear and humiliation.

"Son of a glitch!" she finally spat, glaring at the purple jet that was now fighting in robot mode, "Who do you think you are to treat me like this?"

* * *

"I have to take cover… or I'm dead!"

Dirge's survival instinct kept telling him to find a hideout as quickly as possible if he didn't want to be terminated by the enemy. It was easier said than done as his both legs were broken. Thanatron had damaged his right leg when he had ripped off his wing, and Dirge had had a badly negotiated his landing – better say, he had crashed. Now, he was lying on the ground, reduced to crawl on the scraps in order to escape, and he wasn't really succeeding. He paused, trying to calm pain that irradiated from his legs. Bad call; he heard the noise of robot footsteps heading in his directions. He tried to crawl quicker but the pain on his legs almost paralyzed him.

"I can't finish like that!" he cried in despair.

He was to reiterate his efforts to move when a black foot crushed his left hand. The conehead strangled a cry, trying to gather himself and find a way to counterattack, but a vivid pain from his torn wing annihilated his will. Another Stalker had joined, crushing his bleeding wound under his foot. Fear took over Dirge as he foresaw a painful and long agony.

"No, Primus, please, no!" he begged.

The pain stopped when the feet withdrew from his hand and leg. At this point, his audios were ringing and his optics flickering too much to allow him to check the situation. He waited there for further tortures, or if he was lucky, the final kill. Finally, someone seized him by the waist and shoulders and turned him over.

"Are you functional?"

The masked face of Soundwave appeared in a blur. Dirge tried to reply something, but no sound escaped his vocalizer. He avoided the gaze of the former Communication officer and looked at the corpse of one of the Stalkers; Buzzsaw was perched on his chest and threw him a shrill cry.

"I guess you are," Soundwave concluded despite his lack of answer.

The blue jet was to raise him from the ground when a dark shape appeared on his back. The two eagles gave out a shrill hiss to warn him of the danger, allowing Soundwave to turn around and face the Stalker before being tackled to the ground by his side.

O

The Stalker's hand ripped out Soundwave's facemask, slid to his throat and squeezed strongly, with the evident intention to break his neck. The former Decepticon officer didn't lose his cold blood and slammed his fist on the side of the black helmet, strongly enough to push the aggressor backwards. The Stalkers straightened up, showing his cockpit to the attentive Transformer. Soundwave dug his fist on his chest, searching for the pilot that he bluntly extracted. The Salonian soldiers fired his riffle, adding a dent to Soundwave's cheek.

O

"Disgusting pest!"

With a simple rotation of his wrist, Soundwave sent the tiny alien fly to the next burning drilling tower. He then waved away the carcass of the Stalker and scanned his surroundings. Lazerbeak and Buzzsaw were still perched on the corpses of the two deactivated Stalkers, and according to the gapping hole on their chests, they had finished off the pilots. They hadn't tried to help Soundwave, as they were sure of his victory. He stretched a hand, and the two vultures flied to him, picking gently at his fingers. Then, they came back to their macabre perches.

"Lovely birds."

Soundwave sat up and looked at flyer lying beside him. Dirge was wandering between consciousness and stasis. After a few seconds of recovery, he grabbed the jet and flopped him over his shoulder.

"Lazerbeak! Buzzsaw! We're taking cover in this factory!" Soundwave decreed, pointing at a wobbly building with a metallic roof.

The two eagles flew to the factory and disappeared inside, soon joined by Soundwave. The flyer observed the configuration of the place and gave a smile of satisfaction. It was the perfect place to play the sniper and ambush to the Stalkers who would have the bad idea to fly into the neighbourhood.

_

* * *

(Guys! My tank is empty, I need to refuel!)_

The voice of Octane reached Blitzwing through the COM'link, spoiling his enjoyment of the situation. Since they had adopted this strategy of smoke screen, the three triple changers had managed to run through three kilometers on the enemy line, killing thirty-three Stalkers. They were now less than 750 meters from the hangar where the earthling jets were parked.

_(Don't be too long… We're almost done!)_ he replied with some irritation.

_(It's a question of five minutes.)_

Blitzwing caught the humming of Octane's engines dying away, for lack of seeing him because of the thick curtain of smoke that surrounded them.

_(Keep firing, Astro. This smoke is our best ally in this battle.)_ he advised to his companion.

_(Yep,)_ Astrotrain replied. _(Don't you think hilarious that we, Decepticons, are going to rescue the Autobots' allies, led by Megatron himself?)_ he threw with a laugh.

_(We're not doing this for the rescue of those microbes' jets, Astro. We're doing this to show Optimus Prime that the Decepticons are back on track, and that they're excellent warriors. After this victory, I hope that Megatron will spend less time marveling at Screamer's aft and come back to his former self!)_

_(You mean, kicking Autobots and Salonian's afts?)_

_(For example…)_ Blitzwing blindly fired a salvo of lasers when he picked the energy signature of a Stalker. The black robot fell in front of him, smoke raising from its blasted cockpit. _(Frankly speaking, I'm getting sick with the policy of Optimus. We're Decepticons, not Autobots. We should attack the Empire of Salonia instead of keeping on the defence side. I'm sure Megatron will end this war…)_

_(If he stops playing the doting father with is lovely one…)_ corrected Astrotrain.

_(He will… He's the Slag Maker after all!)_

_(Guys, I'm back!)_ Still invisible in the dark fog, Octane drove to the tank former and stopped a few meters from him. _(Shall we go?)_

_(Let's go! Victory is at hands!)_ Blitzwing ensured.

A long tongue of fire soared on the fog, immediately adding more smock to it, enveloping them in a perfectly dark curtain that made invisible to the enemy. Full of beans, the deadly trio hit the road again.

* * *

Starscream had to grant Thanatron this quality; he was gifted of an amazing maneuverability. A skill that was far from matching his own talent, fortunately; Starscream was still at the leading position, leaving his pursuer behind him. He flew towards a group of giant cisterns, transformed as he negotiated an audacious u-turn and hid behind one of the colons of metal and fuel. A few nano-clicks later, Thanatron emerged on the canyon and transformed to his robot-mode. He hovered there, turning on himself while he nervously scanned his surroundings in search of Starscream's traces. The Seeker knew better; he could reduce the resonance of his energy field and remained undetectable. He waited till Thanatron showed his back to leave his hideout, ready to attack him by surprise.

The general was suddenly mown down by a white tornado. The shuttle slammed into him and then transformed into a fusion cannon holder that Starscream immediately recognized. Into his game with Thanatron, he hadn't noticed that Megatron was also involved in the pursuit. The two Transformers rolled on a floor, scratching their wings in the process, and lay there, stunned by the shock.

"Primus! Megatron! Get away from him!" Starscream screamed, aware that Megatron was in danger if Thanatron recovered first.

To his greatest fear, the Salonian general got quickly to his feet and tried to hit Megatron's on his head. The silver Transformer however blocked his foot and pulled strongly, destroying Thanatron's balance. He fell flat on his back, allowing Megatron to pine him on the ground.

"You're already dead!" Starscream heard his lover screaming.

A rain of punches fell on the trapped general, sparing no inch of his upper body. His cockpit was rapidly shattered and wires torn from it.

"Enjoying it?!" Megatron shrieked, bashing the silver face. "I can remember you did this to one of my men!"

Rapacious hands tore apart plating on the robust shoulder, ignoring the complaints of the wounded mechs. According to Megatron's fury, Starscream was almost sure that he wanted to kill Thanatron. The Decepticon Leader had many times knocked him down, but never had Megatron hit that hard.

"Megatron, stop it! We need him alive!"

Galvatron's voice! Starscream turned around and stared with a blank stare at Megatron's brother.

"Don't look at me so stupidly! Help me stopping this cretin before he deactivates this glitch!" the purple warlord barked as he seized Starscream by a shoulder. "You take the right, I take the left."

The Seeker extricated himself from the grip of Galvatron and ran to his lover. He knew how to stop him; he needed to tell him a simple word, the reality.

"Megatron, stop!" he shrieked, grabbing his wrist as he was to pummel once again Thanatron's face, "Primus, stop! He's your son!"

O

"Son": the word came as a shock to Megatron, who suspended his punch, staring successively to Starscream and to the bleeding mech he had tackled to the ground.

"What is that nonsense?" he exclaimed, unable to move. He glared at the mech, scrutinizing his face, analyzing closely the frequencies of his energy field. Despite his wounds and the energon that stained his face, Thanatron looked like his image reflected into a mirror. "That… can't… be!" he stuttered.

"He is! He told me… lower your fist, Megatron!" Starscream insisted.

The Seeker tried to pull him but the warlord refused to move.

"What did he tell you?!" Galvatron rasped, walking to the little group. "That's a trap!"

"I'm sure he didn't lie. He trapped me, disguised as Galvatron and fooled me with his lies. It's him! Your son!" Starscream exclaimed, breathless.

Megatron's expression darkened while Galvatron didn't hide this story was hard to process. The silver warlord suddenly stood up from his prey, hauling him to his feet, and knocked him against the pillar of a tower.

"Is he telling the truth?" he rasped, optics blazing with anger.

Thanatron replied by a snigger, which owed him a new punch in the face. The general strangled a hiss of pain and glared at Megatron, to finally spit him some energon in the face. The former Decepticon leader clenched his jaw, rewarding this provocation by a new punch, in the black mid-section.

"Is Starscream telling the truth?" Megatron groaned, "Beware… I'm not patient."

The scolding smirk didn't leave Thanatron's face, who stared at Megatron in the optics.

"Yes, I have the dishonor of being your son," he hissed. "I was the one who instilled hatred in the spark of your little bitch! But there is something he doesn't know yet: I pretended to be Galvatron and attacked you, so that you think he wanted to kill you." Thanatron laughed madly, "I hate you!" he barked.

Black fingers laced around his throat, squeezing strongly.

"Why?" Megatron questioned.

"You tried to kill my mother while she was holding my spark. She was nesting! She implored you to spare her spark and mine, but you said you didn't care!" Thanatron's voice chocked with emotion, "You threw her into a melting pit, you bastard!"

A melting pit… Suddenly, everything became clear in Megatron's mind and called a name.

"Darkracer… Your mother is Darkracer!"

"Nonsense! She's dead!" Galvatron screamed in indignation, "He's lying!"

Megatron would have liked to say the same thing, but a voice in his mind told him Thanatron was saying the truth. The roar of jets' engines disturbed him, and he looked up. Black shapes of jets appeared on a grayish background, until a dark cloud, casting the shadow of death over the Salonian army, hid them.

The Earthling jets had been freed, and they clamed revenge for the destruction of their base.

Megatron thought he would rejoice of this victory, but he was actually thrown into hell. He could feel on Thanatron's energy field some frequencies that threw him back in the time he was a gladiator. When a dark femme called Darkracer had granted the favor of her recharge berth more cycles he had planned to spend.

"Oh, you say nothing, mighty Megatron?" Thanatron scolded, smirking nastily. "You want me to repeat what I've done to you?" he asked defiantly.

Megatron didn't reply, as petrified. His mind was racing, trying to analyze what had happened since that day he and Galvatron had pushed Darckracer in the melting liquid. He imagined this unknown son being indoctrinated by his mother, raised in the hatred of his genitor. He could see him hidden in the shadows, observing him while talking with Starscream. He could picture himself the anger of Thanatron, watching his father affectionately pat the young jet, as if he was his son.

"Have you killed Shootingstar?" Starscream's screechy voice covered the roar of engines. "Have you killed my father and brother as well?" he added, voice trembling.

Thanatron cursed a nasty smile.

"That was an accident. I'm glad that it hurt you."

Megatron's fist mashed on Thanatron's chest, close to his spark casing. The shock was violent enough to knock out the general, who's body slid slowly to the ground. He had to stop him speaking. He had to freeze the time. He had to regain the control of his life, which the revelations of Thanatron had completely destroyed.

"I'm going to kill him!" Starscream muttered darkly.

Megatron emerged from his dark thoughts to grab him round the waist.

"No, Starscream!"

"But… He killed them. He killed my father and my brother! He-"

"He has all the answers to our questions, Starscream."

The Seeker looked at him with a stare reflecting the chaos of his emotions; pain, hurt, anger, revolt, even guilt.

"You have to trust me, Starscream!"

Far away in the sky, the black bodies of Stalkers were fleeing the attacks of the earthling jets, backed up by the few Transformers who were still able to fly. His men were winning the battle, but inside, Megatron felt as gloomy as he had lost the war.

**To be continued**


	26. Ch 26: Introspection

I thank very much all the readers who had posted a comment for the last chapter and I promise I will do my best to reply them as soon as possible. Many thanks also to Krystalmaze for her work on this chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 26: Rise of the Decepticons (1) - Introspection**

"Megatron! Where are you?"

Starscream stood in front the remains of a drilling tower and scanned closely the devastated area, planted with destroyed walls and twisted pikes of metal.

"Megatron!" he called again, more and more worried about his warlord's absence. After Thanatron's arrest by Ultra Magnus and his men, Megatron had run away, shrieking that he wanted to be left alone. Three hours had passed since this reaction – unusual for the Slag Maker – and despite Starscream's efforts to find him, Megatron was invisible.

"Megatron!" the Seeker called again with a tremor in the voice.

"Oh, stop whining!" a grating voice retorted.

Starscream was startled, as the vocal frequency was very similar to Megatron's voice. However, he knew it wasn't his lover, but a certain insufferable purple warlord. Apprehensively, he watched Galvatron unhide from the shadows of the skeletal tower and step in the light of the moon.

"I'm in search of Megatron!" Starscream quickly justified, "I'm not sure I should leave him alone after what he has been told."

Galvatron smirked and pointed at the massive shape of a bombed hangar.

"He's here."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm his brother, remember? I can sense it," Galvatron replied as he opened a subspace in his flank. "By the way, don't you think you've forgotten something?" he asked flatly.

Starscream stared blankly at the small box that Galvatron produced: he had left it in the Atlantis, to the care of Springer.

"I- I…"

"As you're infected with the star virus, you must carry your antidote with you, including the recharge, all the time," Galvatron spoke sternly. "Besides, you should have recharged the antidote already."

The Seeker lowered his head and opened the box; the reflection of the bluish liquid glittered in his optics.

"Why do you care?" he asked the older mech.

"Because Megatron is fine as long as you're fine. Recharge the antidote, then go and see Megatron, do all that it takes to cheer him up. I want him in top form tomorrow morning, inspecting his troops."

"But-"

"But… what? Do as I say!"

The authority in Galvatron's voice and body language startled the Seeker, who hurriedly withdrew the almost empty flask from his wrist and replaced it by a full one.

"Okay. I'm going to see Megatron, but it's only because I want to see him, and not because you had ordered it!" the Seeker informed. His facial expression clearly indicated that his pride was hurt.

"About time!"

Starscream walked away, wings quivering with annoyance. Although Galvatron seemed to be protective towards his brother – and by the same, himself – his presence still conveyed a certain threat. Another one hovering over him…

O

Galvatron watched with suspicion at the flyer heading to the hangar. His energy field radiated strongly and was agitated by disturbing waves of electricity.

"I wonder if he is really gonna cheer up Megatron or completely destroy what is left of his motivation," he muttered.

"My lord, why haven't you told him about the flasks? It was a murder attempt!"

The purple warlord turned to face Cyclonus, who had hidden behind the wall during the conversation.

"I think Starscream is unstable enough. No need to confuse him more, as it might increase Megatron's own confusion. I need my brother to be fully focused on rebuilding the Decepticon army." He outlined a devilish smirk, "That doesn't mean the culprit won't be punished. Are you sure it is Nightbird?" he asked.

"Affirmative."

"Then, Cyclonus, I allow you to give the chick a lesson she will never forget… And if possible, bring her to the Decepticon' side."

"At your command, my Lord."

The bunny-headed Transformer bowed in agreement.

* * *

Starscream stopped at the threshold of the hangar and observed the silver mech who was sitting, back to a wall; his chin rested on his crossed arms, Megatron was staring into space. He looked obviously desperate. The Seeker felt a wave of hatred towards Thanatron for what he had done to his family, for the disease he had instilled in him and ultimately, for the dark clouds he had pilled up above his head. He knew that even if Thanatron didn't have any place in Megatron's spark, the warlord couldn't ignore who he was; his son. Megatron had always dreamt of having an heir to the Decepticon army.

_Yes._ Thanatron was a threat for their relationship and to a more individual level, for Starscream himself. Anger rose further in his spark, and he clenched his fists. It was no time for hesitation; he had Megatron for himself, and wouldn't allow anybody to take him away from him.

He walked to the silent mech noiselessly as a cat, which was an exploit regarding his weight. He stopped in front of Megatron and grimaced, as the mech didn't look up at him.

"Megatron, I was looking after you," he stated, his voice vibrating with both emotion and annoyance.

The silver Transformer stared blankly at him.

"I'm not a very good company tonight, Starscream," Megatron whispered. "You should go with the others and try to celebrate our victory," he added, lowering his face to return to his thoughts.

"I don't care about the others… only you!" the Seeker replied with anger.

He knelt by his side and snatched away the hands of Megatron, forcing his way into his arms despite his groan of protest. With a defiant glare, he sat on Megatron's lap and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"You act just as if you weren't happy to see me alive!" he growled.

"I'm happy to see you alive. It's just… I have many things to think about."

"Then, you're not showing me your joy enough!"

Starscream quivered when he felt Megatron's chin resting on his helmet and a hand reaching the tip of his left wing, teasing gently. The attention reassured him a little, but not completely, as he knew what Megatron meant by "many things to think about".

"You've been acting strangely since Thanatron told you everything," the Seeker rasped with the tone of reproach.

"Wouldn't you if you were me?"

Starscream got annoyed by the sincerity in Megatron's voice and clutched strongly at his plating, as if to hurt the older mech.

"He killed my father and brother!"

"You told me that you hated them for their lack of consideration towards you," Megatron replied calmly.

Starscream pushed on Megatron's chest to be free from his embrace and glared at him.

"Shootingstar didn't consider me because I've been mainly created by Rapidfire, who had the stupidity to be destroyed in a simple reconnaissance flight in an unknown planet. He saw me as a failure because I looked like him, and I had the same taste for science and exploration. He was constantly degrading me in front of Sunstorm, whose vanity grew accordingly. I-"

"I know all of this, Starscream. Don't get so worked up!" Megatron caressed affectionately his wings, looking suddenly worried.

Unfortunately, Starscream was already too aggravated to realize.

"You don't understand?!" The Seeker shrieked. "I hate Thanatron for taking away the opportunity to prove to them what I was made off. I had learned a lot during my exploration with Skyfire, had grown bolder and stronger, and your… son! He just ruined everything!" Starscream smashed a furious fist against the silver plating, startling Megatron. "Because of him, I will always be considered by my father as a loser!" he cried in despair.

"You're wrong. Shootingstar didn't consider you a loser. He missed you!" Megatron replied, guiding him to rest more peacefully against him.

"What do you know about it?!" Starscream tried to pull back but the warlord kept him in a firm embrace. "This is a lie!"

"I know this, because you were at the center of our negotiations during the last few meetings I had with your father."

O

_Megatron chuckled as Shootingstar beckoned him to walk closer to his throne. What a victory for him! One of the most powerful figures of Cybertron was granting him an audience, after vorns and vorns of condemning him publicly as the living representation of evil._

"_Thank you, my lord," the Decepticon Leader thanked once he had stopped in front of the Space Commander and his son. He knelt with a faint respect in front of the two glowing Seekers, mocking inwardly the pompous fools. "It's an honor to be granted an audience."_

"_Let's say that your proposals about the development of military power on Cybertron interest me," cut Shootingstar. His voice was screechy, yet seductive. "The Autobot federal government wants to reduce the effective dedicated to the defense of Cybertron, forcing some of my Seekers to become merchants. I soundly disagree with that!" the silver and gold Seeker spoke, slamming his fist on his armrest._

_Megatron smirked in triumph, feeling he was very close to getting a new ally to his cause._

"_I'm glad that you have reached this conclusion, Lord Shootingstar. I'm sure that our collaboration will be… a profitable deal."_

_Shootingstar waved a hand, showing he dismissed the idea, while his golden son chuckled lightly. Megatron felt tension rise in his energon, together with anger. He hated the selfishness of the Seekers._

"_It's a little early to speak about collaboration. I need to get some evidence of the skills of your faction before allowing you to participate in my plan."_

_A bell rang in Megatron's CPU as he suddenly understood the real intentions of the Space Commander. 'He has no intention to join the Decepticons, but he's considering having the Decepticons join the Seekers for a potential coup against the Autobot High Authorities,' he reflected with amusement. 'The fool! Let him think I'm going along with his plan. I'll remind him and his conceited son who is the master soon enough!'_

"_I'm ready to take up whatever challenge you're going to put me through!"_

"_Very well. It's going to be the occasion to see if the technology you're developing, for aerial warfare and energy search, is really efficient…" _

_Shootingstar pushed a button on the command board on his armrest, launching a hologram that appeared in front of Megatron. The Decepticon leader glanced at the two Seekers and noticed that Sunstorm was as surprised as he was._

"_Who is this… young femme Seeker?" Megatron asked, scanning the image. As far as he could see, it was a lightly built Seeker, with a bright red, blue and silver paint job. "I didn't know you had a daughter," he added._

"_He's my youngest son," corrected Shootingstar with some irritation, "And I want you to find him and bring him back."_

"_Father! I can't believe your challenge is to find this worthless piece-?"_

_Shootingstar shot a frightening glare to his elder son, winding up his indignation. Sunstorm stepped back with quivering wings._

"_Shut up, Sunstorm!" Shootingstar warned and then focused back on Megatron. "My son left a thousand vorns ago, and according to our last reports, he has headed to an unknown solar system, rich in energy. I want you to track him and bring him back."_

_Megatron nodded, looking thoughtful, but inside, he exulted; Shootingstar seemed to have a weakness. He needed to know more._

"_Is he an explorer to go so far away from his creator?" he asked with faint concern and then covered the image of the Seeker with a tender look. "A so young and beautiful son of yours! He must be one of your greatest prides!"_

_He smiled to himself as the expression of Shootingstar fell._

"_Starscream… My son went on an exploration mission against my will. We had some words before he departed… I told him I would disown him, and he has disappeared since that night," the Space Commander explained with emotion. "We tried to localize him, but he's out of our reach. I've heard that you're building spaceships, and that you're using high-guard's technology to identify heavy sources of energy."_

_Megatron suppressed a grin as he felt he had hit the nail on the spot. This beautifully designed Seeker was the weak spot of the unbending Shootingstar. By chance, if he found the young rebel and convinced him to join the Decepticons, Shootingstar would eat out of his hands!_

"_And I guess that having your son back is a very important thing to you, isn't it?" he purred._

"_I miss Starscream. I want my son back!" Shootingstar stated. By his side, Sunstorm looked mortified._

"_Don't worry, My Lord, the Decepticons will take all the measures to find your beloved son. Considering that he has gone to an area rich in energy, we should quickly find a trace of him," Megatron assured._

"_Thank you. If you succeed, I will be indebted for life to you," Shootingstar replied, looking sincere. "And you will be welcome to join me against the Autobots!"_

"_All pleasures are mine!"_

_Megatron managed a two-faced smile and bowed as he left._

_O  
_

"You're lying! You're telling me this just to cheer me up!" Starscream protested, grabbing Megatron's shoulders and throwing him a vibrant look.

"I'm not lying, Starscream. That's why I knew you already. I recognized you at once when I found you lying in the wreckage of your crash," Megatron retorted, "I knew already everything about you!"

* * *

"Decepticons, to victory!"

Astrotrain, Octane and Soundwave cheered Blitzwing's words with a hooray and raised their energon cubes before drinking greedily. The scene didn't please the onlooker who stood in front of the triple changer with an expression of defiance.

"Me Grimlock say victory doesn't belong to Decepticons!"

The four 'Cons laughed mockingly at him.

"Victory belongs to the bots who have delivered the earthling jets!" Astrotrain retorted with contempt. "Blitzwing, Octane and I. Meaning; the Decepticon faction!"

The Dinobot leader didn't flinch at all when Blitzwing beckoned himdisdainfullyto step back.

"Me Grimlock, arrived first at the hangar!" he argued.

"Oh yes, big lizard?" Octane laughed openly. "Sorry, I don't remember you were there when we arrived and pulverized the Stalkers, who were besieging the place," he completed with a knowing look.

"Me Grimlock, was there!"

"Oh, stop whining, you idiot!"

All the 'cons turned their gaze in the direction of the screechy voice; Galvatron was observing them with a smug expression plastered on the face. His trusty lieutenant was standing by his side, as usual.

"Me Grimlock say: no need of Galvatron in the conversation!" he barked.

"And I, Galvatron, I'm telling you: no need of you, brainless bipedal reptile!" the purple Decepticon spat, walking to the Dinobot with a fierce expression in the optics. "Leave the heroes of the day to the savoring this victory."

Galvatron stopped a few meters from Grimlock and banged his fists in rage. He was soon mirrored by the T-Rex changer. Blitzwing prudently stepped back, suddenly worried in the developments of the conversation.

"Me Grimlock say: Decepticon not heroes. Autobots are!"

"Oh yes? Who delivered the earthling jets? The Decepticon triple changers… And who arrested Thanatron? Megatron and myself. Tell me what you, worthless Autobots, have done during this battle except been pathetic spectators?!" Galvatron sniggered.

Grimlock growled in irritation and raised a fist, ready to punch his irritating interlocutor. Galvatron pretended to be bored and yawned noisily, which just raised the tension higher. The Dinobot however changed his mind as he realized that the five other Decepticons were ready to leap at him. He could take on Galvatron, but he stood absolutely no chance of winning against five angry and fully-charged Decepticons.

"Me Grimlock go away from here. Decepticons stupid and stubborn, not interesting!" he declared with anger.

Galvatron gave out an insane laugh as he watched his archenemy leaving the scene ingloriously.

"Yes, good idea, you single-connector brain! Leave us between competent warriors!" he threw at him once the Dinobot had disappeared from sight. He then glared at the triple changers, "What are you waiting for give me an energon cube, you idiots?" he groaned.

"Oh… yes sir!"

In less than a nanoclick, Galvatron had three energon cubes handed to him by the triple changers. He smirked and took one of them, which he tossed aside so that it landed in the hands of Cyclonus. The Air Commander bowed in gratitude and took a sip. The purple warlord took the two others in both hands and openly laughed.

"Ah! That's how I enjoy victory!" He drank from the cube he held in his right hand and emptied with throated swallowing. He welcomed the last drop with a groan of satisfaction and threw the empty cube away. He wiped energon droplets from his chin with the back of his hand and covered his audience with a blazing stare. "Enjoy the moment, my fellow Decepticons, but you will have to be functional for tomorrow's inspection of the troops by Megatron!"

"At your command!" the warriors replied in chorus.

"Perfect!" Galvatron opened his COM' link, requesting connection with Soundwave. It took a few seconds for the blue jet former to grant him access.

_(Here me sound and clear, Soundwave. I want you to wear your facemask and your visor when in presence of Megatron and Starscream. It's out of question you unveil your true identity. I need Megatron to be focused on the reconstruction of the Decepticon army!)_

The reply came after a long minute of hesitation, during which Galvatron glared intensely at Soundwave.

_(At your command!)_

_(Perfect!)_

Satisfied, Galvatron refocused his attention on his energon cube, which he swallowed noisily.

"Another one… Quickly!"

* * *

"Ouch! Hey, be careful! It hurts! Have some respect for one of the saviors of the day!" Skywarp squirmed firmly on his repair berth and finally snatched away the hand of the green medic. "I'm wounded!" he protested with a vibrant voice. "Be a little more gentle!"

"You're not that wounded in comparison to your comrades, who were much more courageous and handled the repairs without a cry. Stop complaining!"

"You're as rude as Ratchet with your patients!" The black and purple Seeker made a pout. "I want to see another medic!" he shrieked. "Bring me ANOTHER CMOOOOOO!"

The green C.M.O. covered his audios with a disgusted look until Skywarp deigned stopping his vocalises.

"Slag it, your voice is as disturbing as Starscream' screeches. Why do the Decepticon jets have to be whiny little slaggers?"

"I'm not a little slagger! I'm not whiny! I want to be repaired properly!"

The C.M.O. groaned in annoyance and leaned forward, darting his angry blue optics to the red optical components of the tiresome jet former.

"Push your audio receptors at the maximum volume because I won't repeat it twice. Stop squirming otherwise I attach you to the repair berth, and I perform the repairs by force!" he growled. "Your call!"

Skywarp stopped thrashing on the berth as he got the vision of himself, riveted to the repair table, with the medic cutting mercilessly his wires. He sobbed and shivered in horror.

"'kay".

"Perfect."

The medic resumed the repair process, working first on Skywarp's battered chest panels, moaning about Decepticon Seekers being childish and boring.

"What's your name, by the way?" the Seeker asked with a little voice.

"Seekerkiller." The medic grinned mischievously. "Any other questions?"

The Seeker gulped and decided to keep silent until the completion of the repairs.

O

Thundercracker felt a presence by his side; according to the energy field, it wasn't Skywarp but somebody else that he knew already. His sensors picked up a gentle stroke on his left arm, certainly made by the owner of the energy field. Not very satisfied to be seen in a state of weakness by somebody else than his trine mates, he forced his optics online and scanned his surroundings in search of his guests. The first thing he saw were azure optics shining on a big white faceplate.

"Thundercracker, how do you feel?"

The Seeker could put a name to his face, as soon as he recognized the voice.

"Skyfire?"

"Yes. How do you feel? Better?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Watching over you…"

This reply seemed totally nonsense for Thundercracker, as he didn't understand why Skyfire was attending to him, and not Skywarp. Slowly, memories started to play in his memory bank, and he remembered being the centre of attentions of the shuttle former during the flight in the Atlantis. More painful was the memory of his rescue during the battle, and the incredible pain and fear that had invaded him.

"You saved me. Why?" he whispered.

"Because you were in danger."

The reply was so sincere that the Seeker felt immediately ill-at-ease.

"That's not a satisfying reply. Why have you risked your life for me?"

"Because I think… I care for you."

Primus! All the things were said.

"I'm not Starscream, Skyfire. I can't replace him." Thundercracker stated solemnly. "You're misleading yourself into believing you care for me!" he added.

Skyfire withdrew his hand and stared at the Seeker with a hangdog expression.

"I just… I don't think I am misleading myself. I just want to know you better!" the shuttle whispered, piqued.

"Look. I am a Decepticon. Autobots and Decepticons are not made to end up… argh-" Thundercracker stopped as he hesitated to say the words. "They are not made to bond or even mate together," he finally said.

"Thundercracker, I think it's you who is misled by your feelings and your fear. At this point, I just want to know you better," Regaining some self-confidence, he set a protective hand on the Seeker's shoulder. "You have nothing to fear from me."

"I am not afraid!" Thundercracker vehemently retorted.

"Oh yes, you are. You're petrified at the idea that someone could get close to you and see what your spark is made of."

Thundercracker would have liked to retort something, but he was already exhausted enough to argue with the shuttle. Skyfire wanted to do it his way, and it would be difficult to change his mind.

* * *

"I already knew everything about you!"

"Why haven't you told me earlier, then?"

"Because your feelings towards your father made you weak and easy to manipulate, what I needed." Megatron tried to kiss him but Starscream looked aside. "I'm sorry."

The Seeker glared at him with an expression of anger, until his feature softened a little. He set his forehead against Megatron's shoulder and sighed. The warlord could feel the heat radiating from his derma plating and understood that Starscream was under the control of the virus.

"You should calm down, Starscream," Megatron whispered gently, firming his grasp around the Seeker's body. "Why not take a well deserved rest, you and me, here… calmly?"

"No! I want to know!"

"Know what?!"

"How did my father die?"

Megatron gave out a tired sigh and set his face against Starscream's forehead, kissing it lightly.

"After a few weeks of search, my communication team found a trace of you. I immediately asked an audience with Shootingstar to report on our progress. Once I arrived at the Command Room of your father's citadel-"

O

_Megatron heard some bribes of dispute through the half-opened door. Anger seized him when he spotted the tall purple Transformer who was walking to Shootingstar and Sunstorm. The two Seekers seemed to not appreciate very much the presence of their visitor, and were aiming at him with their rifles._

"_Stop where you are, Galvatron!" Sunstorm warned, powering up his weapon._

"_How did you get in my citadel?" Shootingstar screamed._

_Galvatron kept walking without a word. At this point, Megatron concluded that he was rather ill intentioned and decided to intervene._

_(Shockwave, come here at once! Galvatron is here, trying to double-cross us again!) he called through his com' link._

_(At your command, Megatron!)_

_Comforted by the reply of his trusty lieutenant, Megatron kicked the door in and aimed his fusion cannon at his brother._

"_I think you're not welcomed here, Galvatron!" he declared._

_A violent pain irradiated from the back of his neck, shutting down his motor system…_

_O  
_

"Everything became dark before I could understand what had just happened. I fell to the ground in stasis," Megatron added, kissing Starscream's forehead again. The Seeker was abnormally silent and his derma plating desperately hot, which worried him a little more. "It's Shockwave who found me…"

O

"_My Lord… Megatron!"_

_The silver warlord rebooted slowly and moaned in pain when his systems fed back an incredible pain in the area of his neck._

"_What happened?" he whispered, fighting against stasis._

"_Somebody planted a dagger in your neck, and knocked you down. I've just found you," Shockwave informed. "Sire, I'm afraid Lord Shootingstar and Lord Sunstorm have left us."_

"_Where have they gone?"_

"_Unfortunately, not far enough away from your brother…"_

_Despite the various error messages that flooded his CPU, Megatron detected on Shockwave's voice and words that something was wrong. _

"_Help me up!" he ordered._

_The single-optic Transformer assisted him in the difficult exercise of standing up. Megatron staggered on his feet and once his optics came back to function, he saw it._

_Or rather to say, them._

_Shootingstar and Sunstorm's heads were set on the main desk, tainting with green energon the dark marble. Their bodies were lying on the floor, just the near the gruesome trophies. Their chests had been smashed by the shot of fusion cannon._

"_Galvatron… He did that?" he exclaimed. As a sign that his CPU was recovering quickly, an idea popped up very quickly. "Show me what was planted on my neck!" he ordered to Shockwave._

"_This was, my Lord."_

_Megatron seized the dagger and saw the symbol of Shootingstar's family on the pommel: two red signs, symbolizing the form of the member's almond-shaped optics._

"_He set me up to be accused of Shootingstar's murder!" Megatron groaned, squeezing the dagger in his hands to squash it. "Shockwave, we have to go!" he added at the intention of his lieutenant. "But before, we have to find the record of this scene and destroy it!"_

"_At your command, my Lord!"_

O

"We found the communication room very easily, killed the guards and destroyed the record. We left an Autobot symbol on the crime scene, so that the Autobots would be accused of the murder. We set the citadel on fire to erase all traces of us. And it worked…" Megatron paused and looked down at the Seeker to check on his reaction. Starscream was listening attentively, a little downcast.

"If you're telling the truth, then I have more reason to hate Thanatron than I thought. He took away all my chances to enjoy the respect of my father!" Starscream sat up straight and glared at the silver flier. "Your son totally ruined my life, and I know he will try again to destroy me! He must die!" he shrieked, banging his fist and pummeling Megatron's shoulder.

The warlord gritted his teeth and ignored the pain caused by the punch. Knowing that Starscream was going out of control, he tightened his grasp around the smaller body, blocking his arms in a fierce embrace.

"Calm down, Starscream!"

The optics of the flier flared of a volcano red. Heat now clearly radiated from his faceplate and chest.

"Let me go! Why are you doing this? You don't believe me? You want to protect Thanatron?!"

"You're overheating! Stop fighting, Starscream! You must cool down."

Far from calming the Seeker, the appeasing tone of Megatron raised his anger.

"Oh, I see! You learn that you have a son, and you don't care about me anymore! Primus, this son has my life in hell!" Starscream barked, squirming strongly. "Get off me, you betrayer!"

"Starscream, stop!"

The Seeker finally managed to destroy their balance, and they fell on the floor, Megatron on top of a trashing Starscream. The fury of the Seeker rose further and his blows rained on the chest of the heavier mech. Feeling that he wouldn't sustain a beating for such a long time, Megatron seized his fists, pinning them by the side of Starscream's head.

"Starscream, regain control of yourself! Don't let this virus take the better of you!" Megatron urged. "Calm down!"

"Why would I try, if you don't love me?"

"I do love you!" the silver warlord retorted. "Stop this nonsense!"

At loss with what to do, Megatron grounded on his Seeker and kissed him violently. Starscream first tried to bite back, but the warlord deepened the kiss, allowing no way to expel the intruding glossa. The Seeker continued to thrash beneath him, but his squirms gradually lost intensity. He finally surrendered, and his body lost tension. Once he was sure the Seeker wouldn't try to harm him, Megatron let go of his wrists and loosened the pressure on his mouth, now kissing gently. His wings reported a delicious readout when Starscream's hands brushed the receptors, teasing gently.

The caress didn't last long, as Starscream dug his fingers in the metal, sending a wave of pain in Megatron's wings.

Now, it was the warlord who was angry. He broke the kiss and glared at his lover, who smirked insanely at him.

"You want to see how much I love you, little brat?" he barked, starting to loose his self-control. He tried to capture the Seeker's lips, but Starscream jerked his face aside. "Alright, I'll show you!"

His hands reached the Seeker's chest, stroking some sensitive spots he had detected the night before. His action was soon rewarded by the surrender of the delirious flier. Starscream's chest panels shifted open, unveiling his spark. The Seeker was now completely overheating, and his systems were getting out of control because of the energy suddenly rising in his spark, and subsequently, in all his circuits.

"You think you can get forgiveness by a spark merging?" Starscream asked defiantly.

Megatron looked down at his lover's chest; his spark had turned from blue to red. It was like it would explode.

"I just want to show you how far I can go. Just because I love you, moron!"

Before Starscream could move or even protest Megatron leaned forward and let his spark contact with Starscream's life core. Electricity whirled around their joining, off lining their motor systems. Data streamed in their CPU's, allowing the sharing of their most secret thoughts while their sparks became one single energy core. Megatron read the fear of his Seeker, the chaos that ruled his processor and his endless need of affection. Starscream felt the love of the warlord, and his determination of saving him from his demons.

Slowly, their sparks came back to their individuality, allowing their motor systems to function again. Once he had regained some strength, Starscream locked his leader in a tight embrace and claimed his lips for a tender kiss. Megatron panted as their sparks totally separated, enjoying the attention and the feeling that his Seeker was back to his normal self. Starscream's spark now beat gently against his, appeased.

"I'm sorry… I didn't know what happened. I- I lost control," the Seeker whispered, breathless. "The virus-"

"I know… I know."

Megatron kept caressing gently the dark face, watching with relief Starscream fall slowly but surely into recharge. The Seeker fought off sleep, moaning that he couldn't shut down, that he wouldn't remember the spark merging that following day. Megatron knew he was right, but he preferred that Starscream forget this memory rather than exhaust himself by staying online. He kept caressing him, whispering that everything would be all right, until he was certain the Seeker was in deep recharge.

He then caught the box that Starscream had dropped, and opened it. The greenish light of the star virus antidote welcomed him, reflecting in the glasses of their flask and in his optics. It didn't frighten him at all; instead, it represented another bond he shared with Starscream, in addition to the one created during their spark merging. Without hesitation or second thought, he opened the sub-space in his wrist, and plugged a flask on it.

Feeling definitely relaxed, Megatron leaned back on Starscream, caressing absent-mindedly a cobalt-blue forearm with a hand. His thoughts drifted back to the various strategies he was working out when Starscream had broken into his hideout.

Megatron wasn't harping on the fact that he had a son, hating him enough to repeatedly try to ruin his life, his brother's life and the sanity of his beloved one. To tell the truth, he had felt the pain about this point during an hour, until reason claimed the best over emotion in his spark. Thinking twice about the situation, he had realized he had a fantastic opportunity to rebuild a strong army with competent soldiers.

The first candidate he had in mind was his own brother, Galvatron. After millions years of hatred based on a vast masquerade, Galvatron seemed to be willing to act as loyally as he used to do when they were gladiators. His younger brother was smart – despite his tendency to play the crazy bot – powerful and resourceful. He would be a perfect second in command, who wouldn't bend before an enemy or the terrible tantrums of Starscream. Besides, he had two excellent lieutenants; Scourge and Cyclonus. They would be skilled supports for his Seeker's aerial air force.

Then came this infamous son; Thanatron. His career of megalomaniac tyrant was already remarkable, and his persistence in his horrible revenge was impressive. Although Starscream and he had been the victims of his vendetta, Megatron had to grant this to his son; he was imaginative, powerful, target-focused and cold-sparked. He felt no emotion toward this offspring – not yet – and the idea of using him as a blunt and deadly weapon in his army seduced him. Of course, he would have to deal with Starscream's protests…

Megatron kept in mind Soundwave. He had suspected for million years that the best Communication Officer of his army was hiding a secret to him. Several times, he had been tempted to submit him to questions, but had thought better; Soundwave was one of the most useful Decepticons – right after Starscream – in the chain of command. He had thus decided to ignore the mystery around Soundwave's true identity, and was ready to continue to ignore it. The precious Communication Officer would have a key position in his future army.

Shockwave was also a centerpiece he needed to bring back to the bosom of the Decepticon faction. He still harbored a grudge against the single-optic officer for joining so easily his former nemesis, but had to admit he needed him in his chain of command. Despite the pretenses of turning a new leaf, Shockwave was true to himself; cold, scheming, rational and certainly ruthless when it was a question of him battling against enemies.

And there was Starscream. The Seeker was too unstable to regain his place of second in command. Megatron knew that if he didn't offer him a place of choice, Starscream would hold it against him. The only possibility for him to keep the flier in a good mood towards him would be to offer him a bonding. That would give Starscream an equal rank to him, without necessarily involving him in battles when he wouldn't be fit for them.

Yes, he would ask Starscream to become his bond mate, as soon as they returned to the base 0025. They would then lead a reconstructed and powerful Decepticon army against the Empire of Salonia and Darkracer. Cherishing this hope and Starscream's cheek, Megatron slowly drifted into recharge, smiling dreamily.

**To be continued…**


	27. Ch 27: Sincerity and Manipulation

**Chapter 27: Rise of the Decepticons – Sincerity and Manipulation**

**Base 022, the morning following the battle**

"Oohhhh… Aren't they lovely?!"

Megatron came back on-line with the feeling that he and Starscream were not alone in the hangar. He used his scanner to trace the energy signature of the intruder, which seemed vaguely familiar to him. '_Ah, Slag this dizziness scrambling my systems!'_ he cursed inwardly.

"Don't waste your time scanning the hangar, brother. Mwaah!"

At once, the warlord recognized the insane laugh of Galvatron, and felt irritated at the idea that his insufferable sibling had surprised him in this state of weakness, sharing some privacy with his paramour. Starscream was still peacefully recharging, comfortably cradled in his arms.

"Stop laughing, you'll disturb his recharge!" he retorted, modulating his voice frequency so that its level remained low but conveyed all his irritation.

"It's about time to wake up, sleepy head! It's already 7:00 AM! I promised your troops a review at 8:00 AM, organised a meeting with the slagging idiot of Ultra Magnus at 9:00 AM. If we are convincing, we pick up Thanatron in his jail at around 10:00 AM and lift off for the base 0025 shortly after. The Atlantis is coming back to base 0025 with 2,500 energon cubes. It's a flight we shouldn't miss." Galvatron chuckled lightly; "It's not exactly a good time to sleep with your bird. You can give him a ride again, tonight. Mwaaah!"

This new obsequious remark didn't offend Megatron; it actually amused him. In a way, it reminded him of their young times, when they confided to each other about their one-night stand adventures with lewd details during their drunkard's conversations.

"How come this destroyed base has the means to provide 2,500 energon cubes?" he asked,

"He, he… Petrol is flowing in abundance from the depths of Earth. Stupidly, the base doesn't know how to protect itself, but is perfectly able to resume drilling after an attack."

"A perfect lack of warfare strategy. It is so like Optimus Prime!"

Megatron couldn't help laughing at his own remark. Starscream stirred against him, ready to come back online. He blamed himself for shortening his sleep.

"Another major piece of information; nobody else except you, Starscream and I know that Thanatron is your son. Our "last conversation" hadn't been recorded. Besides, Thanatron, as the good brat of yours, has said nothing to Ultra Magnus."

"Who asked you to gather information and organize all of this?" Megatron asked, pretending to not understand.

The reply caused Galvatron's general hilarity.

"Oh, stop this hypocrisy! That's exactly what you were expecting from me. I am sure that you spent your recharge time plotting how to take advantage of this war and restore the supremacy of the Decepticons," Galvatron purred, extracting a data pad from subspace. "Besides, I guess that you don't have any choice but to entrust me the function of second in command. Starscream is too unstable to fulfill this task, and I'm sure you have the sweetest offer to make him, hum?"

Megatron chuckled: Galvatron had hit the nail on the head. He had always known that his brother was less stupid and crazy than he pretended. Besides, he knew him very well.

"Let's admit that I have the intention to nominate you as my second in command… I'm still only a simple civilian according to Optimus Prime."

"Mwaah! Since when have you taken care of the orders of this idiot?!" Galvatron was literally in stitches. "I'm not worried about that. I know you will be able to stand your ground." He closed his datapad and put it back in place, in subspace. "I'll send you the coordinates of the troops review. Be on time!" he warned as he headed to the exit.

"One last thing, Galvatron!" Megatron heard the footsteps of his brother stopping at the threshold. "Try to find a brand with the Decepticon logo. I'll need it for the troop reviews."

"Mwaaah! It's already done!"

Galvatron left the hangar, leaving Megatron and Starscream in complete silence. The optics of the Seeker flashed a deep red more regularly as he definitely awoke; his flickering gaze steadied on Megatron's face, and he raised a hand to brush gently his cheek.

"How… did I get here?" he asked with a tremor in his voice. "I don't remember."

"You came to me and asked me questions about your father."

Starscream looked confused. "Why would have I ask you something about… him? He hated me!" he stated in a tone showing he wasn't comfortable with speaking of this point.

"I told you how much your father loved you."

Pain appeared in the expression of the Seeker as he ran a scan of this memory, but found nothing but corrupted files.

"I don't remember. Please, tell me again," Starscream murmured, trying to not sob.

"Don't worry, I will tell you everything," Megatron replied, kissing him gently. He then caressed a dark cheek, forcing Starscream to look deep in his optics. "But first of all, I have something important to ask you."

**

* * *

One hour later…**

Skywarp peeped nervously at the brazier that was burning with frightening howling. Why had Cyclonus and Scourge lit this? Wasn't this improvised meeting a simple troop review? The purple Seeker didn't know why, but there was something wrong somewhere: knowing Megatron, it looked as if this was meant to turn into something bigger.

"Decepticons… Attention!" Galvatron barked.

All the Decepticons stood to attention, like giant statues suddenly deprived of life, red blazing optics fixed on the two figures that had shown up next to the infernal brazier. Skywarp noticed immediately the radiating expression of Starscream; he was smiling genuinely, his gaze worshiping the bulky shape of Megatron.

"My fellow Decepticons, it's with an immense pride that I'm standing in front of you!" The grating voice of Megatron caused the Decepticon warriors to tense a little. "What we accomplished yesterday was a clear warning to our enemies and so-called allies that the Decepticon army still exists, and that they have to count with us in the power game that have been played on this part of the universe!" he added as he walked to his men.

Skywarp was the first to bear the intensity of Megatron's burning stare, forcing himself to not lower his optics. Primus, their leader was so charismatic! He had almost forgotten it with the successive crisis they had been through. He was relieved when Megatron moved to stand in front of Octane, whose energy field reflected the same trouble. Astrotrain, Blitzwing and Dirge reacted the same way, unlike Scourge and Cyclonus, certainly well trained with the demonstrations of dominance from Galvatron. Finally, Megatron stopped in front of Soundwave, examining him from head to thrusters. The former Communication Officer showed no more reaction than a deactivated mech.

"Soundwave, we'll have a meeting as soon as we're back to the base 0025. Before this, I have a mission for you," Megatron stated. "We're departing shortly for the base 0025 on board of the Atlantis with a cargo of 2500 energon cubes, and a prisoner of prime importance: the general Thanatron. I want you to diffuse on a channel open to the Empire of Salonia a message."

"Yes, Megatron."

"I want you to broadcast this, to the letter and in Cybertronian language: "From Megatron to Darkracer: your son is in my grasp. Try to attack our ship, and Thanatron will be executed on the spot. I know who he is, but you know how I work." Send it as many times as you need, but I want an acknowledgement of reception from the Salonians."

Megatron looked so much like the devil tyrant he used to be that it sent small tingles of excitement through Skywarp's neural network. Their leader was definitely back to his old self, with the improvement that he had managed to win over Starscream. The colourful Seeker was definitely covering Megatron with an enamoured look in the optics.

"At your command, mighty Megatron!"

The warlord outlined a satisfied smile, followed by a devilish chuckle as he returned to the brazier. Galvatron was working on something stuck in the fire, which he finally extracted through the hell-bound flames. The optics of Skywarp narrowed as he identified the object; a brand, forming the Decepticon logo, so close to melting that it was red like an Autobot insignia.

"My fellow Decepticons, it's time for us to show to the others – Autobots, Humans or Salonians – that we have our own identity, code of honour and way of life. This victorious battle is the occasion to remind them that we exist, different and stronger than the other Cybertronians, ready to face the menace of the Salonian Empire with brute force and imaginative tactics, more deadly efficient than Optimus Prime has ever plotted."

At this stage, Skywarp had to admit that Magatron was an excellent speaker, but this was not enough to make him forget the threat of the brand. He had an idea of how it would be used, but preferred not to imagine it.

"And it comes first by the reinstatement of the Decepticon insignia on our frames!!!!"

Skywarp couldn't suppress a shudder that shook his frame. Fortunately for him, he wasn't alone in reacting the same. A burst of anguish flared from the individual energy fields, stating the same worry: it was going to hurt. In the past, the Decepticon insignia was painted on the plating not engraved.

"I understand your reluctance. I don't hide this is going to be extremely painful, but it won't be useless; it will show to the face of the universe how far we can go when we believe in a cause!"

Skywarp's throat went dry, as his energon had fled away from this part of his anatomy. _'Yes, escaping away… I'd like to do same,'_ he reflected, not daring to change his posture.

More majestic and frightening than ever, Megatron beckoned theatrically to Galvatron to approach him with the brand. His brother stopped in front of him, their chests almost touching.

"I want the insignia on my wings," Megatron ordered in an icy voice.

His brother smirked in return.

"And you shall have it!" he groaned.

The burning tip of the brand was immediately pressed against the white metal of the Decepticon leader. Megatron clenched his fist and failed to suppress a pained groan as his dermaplating melted down. After a few seconds, Galvatron withdrew the instrument of torture and affixed it on the middle of the second wing. This time, Megatron had to lean against his brother to find a support. His optics off lined a few nanoclicks, giving a taste to the onlookers of the intensity of the pain that overwhelmed him.

"I hope you enjoyed!"

Galvatron pushed back his brother without brutality. His gesture was rather gentle and moderate in regards to his usual behaviour of grumpy brute. Megatron looked back at him, the red of his optics reflecting some confusion, which quickly vanished. His agenda was certainly clear again in his mind, and it wasn't the burn on his wings that could stop him. Skywarp bit his lip components as he realized how much his leader was determined and would leave them no possibility to refuse this sacrifice. For sure, this was going to hurt, a lot.

Beside the brazier, Starscream, still smiling like an idiot, reached the two brothers and snatched the brand away from Galvatron's hands.

"My lord, I was too stunned earlier to give you a clear reply. I think this is the opportunity to give it," the radiant Seeker purred, loudly enough to allow the onlookers to hear it. He then handed the brand to Megatron. "Mark me… on the wings. I want to belong to the Decepticons, and especially to you, forever!" he stated, tilting his head back to stare at the optics of the taller mech.

Skywarp cursed inwardly his wing mate for being so seductive towards the Decepticon leader. In a usual situation, it would have amused him to no end, and he would have spread hot gossips within the ranks of the Decepticon army. But the prospects about what would happen to his own wings didn't suit him at all. Starscream was just to plunge all winged Decepticons into a dark misery by not ranting against this "initiatory ceremony".

'_Slag you, Screamer! Can't you become the treacherous little brat you used to be, just for a few seconds!?'_

Unfortunately, Megatron was under the charm, his red optics radiating more powerfully than the flames or the red-hot brand. His energy field flared equally strong, finding an echo as Starscream replied the same way. At this point, Skywarp understood why his wing mate looked so "lovey-dovey". Megatron didn't consider him just as a berth mate, but wanted him as his partner in life. He had proposed Starcream, a bond; the answer was obviously positive.

"Starscream, I'm glad that you made your decision. I'm going to give you what you are claiming," Megatron replied, hiding very badly, his emotion.

One ebony hand snatched around the thin waist of Starscream, pulling him close. The Seeker smiled happily and rested against the broad chest, making himself as comfortable as if he were on a romantic date. Megatron seemed to hesitate a little, until his face regained his resolute expression. The brand fell on an immaculate white wing, right in the middle, dark coils rising as metal and job paint melted. Starscream moaned in pain, knees buckling, and was caught just in time before collapsing in a heap. His future bond mate supported his weight, murmuring words of comfort and love so inaudibly that Skywarp's keen audios hardly caught them. The other wing met the same fate, tearing a loud complain from Starscream, who however fought valiantly the physical pain and stood still against Megatron's bulky frame.

'_Oh, that's not good at all!' _Skywarp was starting to panic, his CPU racing to find arguments to avoid such a savage marking of his wings.

All the other Decepticons watched the couple, mouths gaping open, as they felt deep in their cores that they were witnessing a turning in the Decepticon history. Galvatron was the first to recover from the shock; he grabbed Megatron's wrist and pulled away the brand, which he finally grabbed in his hands.

"My turn!" he harshly declared and then chuckled insanely. He walked to the brazier and quenched the brand in the hungry flames, which devoured it with a roar. He waited less than a minute to remove the tool and raised it to optic range, observing the incandescent tip with a morbid fascination.

"Galvatron?"

Megatron glared at his brother, obviously not enjoying the maddened expression that blossomed on his sibling's faceplate. Starscream was still the willing prisoner of his embrace, red optics glowing a deeper red than usual.

"I need no help to do it!"

Galvatron applied the burning tool against the metal of his chest without even flinching, ignoring blatantly the dark smoke that rose from the melted area. He extracted the brand with a triumphal smirk and held it haughtily, tip pointed at Skywarp.

'_No no no, not my wings!'_

Skywarp briefly studied the various loopholes, which all ended on the same scenario: him being shot down by Megatron or Starscream if he refused to be marked. _Or by both of them, with the assistance of Galvatron._ His wings quivered nervously as the tip of the brand clearly designated him as the next sheep to be marked.

"My dear Decepticons, it is clearly time show your allegiance to your new leader!" Galvatron stated.

'No no no, don't say my name! Don't-'

Skywarp's silent pleas ended when his gaze met Galvatron's burning optics, which were covering him with a predatory interest.

"Skywarp! You're next!"

The knees of the Seeker buckled as if he had been sentenced to death.

"Sir… can you not do it on the wings, please?" he asked with little voice, unsure of the reaction of the three high officers.

Galvatron chuckled mischievously.

"Why? You'd prefer being marked on the aft?" he asked on a libidinous tone. "Right moon or left moon?"

'_Of course not!'_ Skywarp sighed and lowered his face; really, it was going to hurt.

'_TC, believe me. You're lucky being with nurse Skyfire!'_

**

* * *

An hour later**

Ultra Magnus knew who was standing on the other side of the front door of his quarters; four war machines came to retrieve his prisoner at any cost. He had watched through the surveillance network the Decepticons pledging their oath to Megatron, self-proclaimed leader of the Decepticons. Optimus Prime was aware of this show of power orchestrated by his old foe and was forming a plan to contain this new threat once Megatron was back to base 0025. Ultra Magnus didn't envy his elder brother's position; the victory of the previous day legitimated the rise of Megatron to the rank of Base Commander.

"Magnus!" The raspy voice of Galvatron echoes from the other side of the door. "Open this slagging door. We need to talk!"

"Polite and refined as ever!" Ultra Magnus reluctantly unlocks the door and glares at his four visitors. "Please, proceed. I don't have a long time to consecrate you."

"That won't be long!" Megatron enters the office first, followed by Galvatron and Starscream. Cyclonus brought up the rear. "I guess you already know what the purpose of my visit is," the tall silver-white Transformer purred.

Ultra Magnus knitted his optic-ridge as he stared at the Decepticon's symbol engraved in the middle of Megatron's broad wings. Starscream and Cyclonus displayed the same dark insignia, moulded on the metal of their appendages, while Galvatron was marked on the chest.

"You don't have the right to wear this symbol," he retorted coldly.

"Since when has it been forbidden to wear a sign on the paint job?" Megatron chuckled lightly. "I didn't know that you and Optimus Prime had become totalitarian leaders," he scoffed.

"I'd suggest you avoid that kind of jokes," Ultra Magnus warned. "Let me remind you that the old factions have been abolished and it's forbidden to wear an Autobot or a Decepticon symbol. Besides-"

"I haven't come here to discuss that point." Megatron waved aside the idea with a disdainful grin. "I am here to claim Thanatron, to escort him back to the base 0025."

"There is a prerequisite to this: you must swear that you will hand him over to Optimus Prime!"

Megatron reached his chest with a hand, pretending to look offended by the unspoken accusation of Ultra Magnus.

"Of course, I will hand this criminal to Prime. He's the base Supreme Commander, while I am just a civilian, willing to help!" he assured reassuringly.

Ultra Magnus recognized perfectly those fake intonations of sincerity and modesty in Megatron's vocal frequency. How many times had the Decepticon leader tried to fool his brother or himself by proposing a truce, hiding a tortuous scheming to backstab them at the first occasion? He could guess from those suave inflections that Megatron was plotting, certainly not in favour of Optimus.

"Perfect. Thanatron is under custody at the block 738. I will inform the guards of your venue." He finally replied, hiding his reluctance. "Additionally, I'll ask Springer and Arcee to escort you to base 0025, as a support."

This last statement produced the desired effect; Megatron's optics flashed in annoyance, sign that he didn't want any Autobot interfering in his business. He was definitely up to some trick.

"We'd like to collect Thanatron as quick as possible," Megatron continued with his treacherous voice.

"You will, within less than an hour."

Ultra Magnus gestured towards the door, informing silently his guests that the meeting was over. It was clear for him that Megatron was lying about his true intentions, and pursuing this conversation would be a simple loss of time. The Decepticon leader bowed politely his head and gestured for his followers to leave. Once the four had exited the place and the door was closed, the owner of the office reopened the laptop in front of him, unveiling the face of Optimus Prime.

"You've heard him, Optimus. Megatron is preparing something. Maybe a coup!"

**

* * *

Base 0025, Optimus Prime's office**

"I don't think so, Magnus. Yesterday's victory legitimates his access to the rank of Base Commander, but I don't think he's stupid enough to try a coup against me. He knows that the Cybertronian coalition is too weak to fight the Empire of Salonia." Optimus Prime paused, his fingers typing nervously on the console in front of him. He wanted to convince his brother that such a threat wasn't to be feared, but wasn't completely trusting his own words.

"Optimus?"

"Even if the Decepticons have pledged an oath to their former leader, they are still a handful of warriors, not as well organized as they used to be. Megatron is not suicidal; his first priority is to usurp my power. He wants Thanatron to get the information of the Salonian Empire's defence system first, and take advantage of them to be named supreme commander of the resistance force. I must prevent this before it happens."

"I hope you're right, Optimus, and that he won't attack you today."

Ultra Magnus closed the connection, leaving Optimus Prime deep in his thoughts. He hadn't shared the bottom of his thoughts with his brother; awkwardly, watching Megatron reorganizing his army and coming back in the foreground wasn't frightening for him.

'_I must've become crazy.'_

He had fought during twenty-years to organize the resistance and push back the enemy, in vain. The shuttles of the Empire of Salonia still blockaded Earth, ruling the sky from the stratosphere of the planet. There were few places on the destroyed Earth where the survivors could rebuild their cities without fearing the attacks of the Stalkers.

'_In another hand, I can't continue like this.'_

He hadn't been completely alone since the beginning of the crisis; Shockwave and Prowl were excellent counsellors, and most of the Cybertronians supported his actions. But deep inside him, he felt helpless and powerless, needing the support of a charismatic figure that would force him to continue fighting ahead. It killed him to admit it, but Megatron was the right Transformer. After millions of years of war with the Decepticon leader, Optimus Prime knew perfectly his qualities and flaws; Megatron might be cruel and amoral, he was also extremely intelligent, relentless and resourceful. A centrepiece of the counterattack against the Empire of Salonia.

"Optimus! It's Prowl! I have a red code warning coming from the abandoned area. It's coming from the patrol in charge of hunting down the Insecticons."

The optics of the Prime narrowed to a slit as the panicked voice of his tacticians announced that the sky would remain dark for that day.

"Prowl, I'm listening. What is it about?"

"It's a message from the Insecticons that they had routed to us. I'm afraid it doesn't augur well," Prowl quickly informed.

Optimus Prime lowered his face, as if the burden of this information already weighed on his shoulders.

"Let me listen to the message."

**

* * *

Base 0022, outside Ultra Magnus office**

"I don't think Magnus swallowed your story," Galvatron sniggered.

"No he didn't." Megatron shrugged his shoulders disdainfully. "As long as he doesn't impede the retrieving of Thanatron, I don't care for his petty considerations."

"Prime might confront you at your arrival on base 0025."

"Oh, I hope he will." Megatron smirked, his face showing a savage excitement. "It's time to remind him what I'm made off," he gloated.

"What we are made off, you mean!" Galvatron corrected.

Megatron, feeling the underneath reproach in the voice of his brother, immediately turned around to face him. "Of course; what the Decepticons are made off," he assured, giving him a typical male shove. He then peeped at his Seeker, noticing the trouble reflected on his energy field. "Stasrcream, you have to go back to the Atlantis and make sure that our troops are ready to embark and the energon cubes already in cargo," he ordered.

The face of the Seeker moulded into a grimace, sign of a potential tantrum. It comforted Megatron that the idea he had made to ensure his unexpected son stayed well out of reach of his future bond mate, and vice versa.

"But I want to go with you to retrieve this slagging bastard!" Starscream finally shrieked indignantly.

"Do you remember what I told you this morning? We need to be united and work together," Megatron replied calmly, walking to his promised one. He reached the dark face with a hand, caressing tenderly the sizzled faceplate as to sooth the pain and anger lying beneath. "Love, do as I say. I understand your feelings and your wish for revenge, but I can't let you kill Thanatron. He knows so much; he's a major asset to destroy the Empire of Salonia," he stated.

"I- I know." Starscream lowered his gaze, sobbing. "You're sending me away not because you love him more than you love me, aren't you?" he added, looking like a spoiled sparkling.

"Of course not!" Megatron lowered his face to kiss him. "You know you are the one counting the most in my life."

"Hum!" Galvatron cleared his throat noisily, obviously annoyed by the intimate way the situation was developing. "Cyclonus, you go with Starscream and help him for the preparations." He ordered, beckoning his trusty lieutenant to take away the Seeker.

"Hey!" Starscream protested lightly when the purple con seized his wrist and pushed him back, away from the caresses of his leader. "Take your hands off me!" he protested, throwing a desperate look to Megatron.

Cyclonus ignored his pleas and dragged him away. The Decepticon leader waited, until the two lieutenants were out-of-sight, to resume his walk, Galvatron on his heels.

"It seems like Starscream took rather well the fact that I am your new second in command," Galvatron cooed.

"I'd rather say that he took my bonding offer, well. He still finds you insufferable and vulgar."

"Mwaah! I hope so! What about Thanatron?"

The question drew a sigh from Megatron's vocalizer.

"It needs loads more work to be done on it!"

**

* * *

Base 0022, penitentiary sector, block 738**

Red optics flashed angrily when Megatron entered the cell. He replied with equal intensity to the glare, although there was no anger in his optics, just curiosity. He immediately ran a scan of Thanatron's form, but found no signs of assaults other than the wounds inflicted by himself or by Starscream. The Autobots had the advantage that they never tortured their prisoners.

"Get out!" Thanatron roared, pushing on his restraints that kept his arms and legs welded to the large chair he had been sat onto. "I don't want to see you!" He then looked at the corner opposite to the door. "Tell him to get out of here. I don't want to see him again!" he barked.

Megatron noticed that there had been an onlooker hidden to his sight when the green triple changer stepped forward. '_Argh, Springer!'_

"He's come to retrieve you, and take you back to base 0025. You will have to put up with this." The Autobot quickly informed in an icy voice.

The news sent Thanatron into complete fury and he pulled on his restraints like possessed. The doubts of Megatron about his ability to free himself fell when the heavy chains started to creek and break.

"Stand well back!" Megatron warned to the two onlookers, preparing for the fight.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Thanatron rose from his chair, throwing the remains of the chains through the cell. His radiant optics illuminated his face distorted by anger, darting at the prey he wanted to slaughter. He was on Megatron in less than a blink of the eyes, fist tightened ready for the kill. Megatron had however no pain to overpower this opponent bereft of judgment; he blocked the punch with a disconcerting easiness, his free hand aiming at a wound on the general's flank. Rapacious hand dug in the bared circuit plates, inflicting a so deep pain that Thanatron pushed a howl and collapsed against the one he tried to murder.

"Stop this at once!" Megatron growled, reversing their position to pin his son against the wall.

One hand still scraped the exposed circuits on Thanatron's flank while the other squeezed his throat. Overcome with pain and humiliation, Thanatron stopped struggling and looked aside, not willing to sustain the intense stare of his father.

"Now, you calm down!" the Decepticon leader growled in the audios of the rebellious mech. He then felt some agitation in his back. "He's under control. Leave us alone!" he barked at Galvatron and Springer.

"But-"

"Okay. How long do you need?" asked Galvatron.

Megatron didn't look back, but according to the protests of the Autobot, he understood his brother was dragging Springer out of the cell.

"Enough time. Now, get out and close the door!"

A metallic cracking echoed his command, leaving the father and his son alone in the feebly lighted cell, whose silence was punctuated by the raging roar of their engines.

"Switch to your comm. channel," Megatron ordered. "I don't want anybody catching our conversation."

"Go and slag yourself!"

Megatron had managed to keep his calm, but the stubbornness of this brat was starting to piss him off.

"SWITCH TO YOUR COMM. LINK! **NOW!**"

O

Thanatron stared at him, dumbfounded by the strange light that he saw in his creator's optics. There was no hate; irritation and… care? _Fatherly care?_ No, it couldn't be. Megatron was a good actor, a liar endowed with speech; he was gifted to delude others with fine words and promises of attentions, hiding his cold spark and unfitness for caring for somebody._ 'Bar this slagging bitch of Starscream!'_

_(What do you want?)_ he replied, cursing himself for yielding to his father's request.

_(First of all; your mother never informed me of your existence. What did Darkracer tell you about the incident at the melting pit?)_

_(Don't you remember, monster? My mother begged you not to kill her, but you didn't listen! You pushed her into the magma of the pit. She had her life saved only thanks to a friend, who waited until you and your disgusting brother left!) _Thanatron replied with anger.

_(She lied. Galvatron and I unmasked her as the plotter who was trying to take over the Decepticon faction. She didn't deny it and tried to shoot us in a last attempt to overthrow us. We threw her in the pit, granted, but she never pretended nesting a spark!)_

Thanatron stared in shock at his creator, confusion quickly replaced by rage.

(_You dare pretend she lied to me!)_

_(Darkracer had lied to Galvatron, many others and myself. Why not to you as well?)_ Megatron retorted, optics flashing dangerously. _(How do you explain she had never encouraged you to contact me, and instead, had exacerbated your desire for revenge?)_

_(She… She was afraid you'd kill me…)_ the general stammered. He had, countless times, asked himself this question, without finding a satisfying answer.

_(Or maybe because it suited her plans that you blindly hated me?)_

_(You're… lying… as usual.)_ Thanatron shook his head as if to expel the words of Megatron from his CPU. His creator was terribly persuasive, he knew it. He mustn't fall in his trap and take his lies. _(Leave me alone; I'm not listening to you anymore!)_

He looked aside to show he ignored the paternal presence but Megatron grabbed his chin and forced him to stare at his optics.

_(The conversation about this point is not over. The priority today is to organize your retrieval and keep you under my care.)_ Thanatron looked blankly at Megatron, failing to process what he meant. _(In case you don't get it, you're accused of major crimes against the Cybertronian race. Prime might be an Autobot, but regarding the seriousness of the suspicions hanging over you, it's highly predictable he's going to torture you to get information about the Salonian Empire and then claim your head.)_ Megatron paused, reaching his son's cheek, patting it affectionately. _(I want to you avoid this fate)._

Thanatron snatched away the hand that outrageously brushed his faceplate. _How dare he?!_

_(Don't pretend you care for me! I transformed your life into hell, destroyed our planet! I don't need your pity or fake affection!)_ he cried in despair mixed with anger. _(I hate you, and I'm sure you hate me!)_

Megatron cupped the face of his son in his both hands. Their foreheads met and their optics burnt in each others radiance.

_(You want the truth? I don't hate you, but I don't care for you, not yet. However, I believe we can get along together for the simple reason you are the son of your father. Like it or not, you are exactly like me: manipulator, relentless, brutal but also resourceful and pragmatic. A powerful wolf among a pack of enraged wolves, destined to rule. It's a fact you are perfectly aware of, deep in your spark.) _Once again, ebony hand reached his cheek. This time, he didn't try to push it aside._ (I can give you the answers your mother always failed to give.) _

The Salonian general couldn't reply, fascinated by the glow in Megatron's optics and taken aback by the closeness with his creator.

_(Now listen. You will follow me to base 0025 and attempt nothing to escape. You will speak only to me or to Galvatron, and above all, don't mention you are my son until I reveal it to the key people. I'll keep you safe from Optimus Prime's sentence to death or any attempts for murder.) _

Thanatron watched his father with disbelief and confusion, trying to decrypt a sign of insincerity in his composure or his energy field. He found none and finally nodded in acceptance, almost shocked to feel reassured by his words and presence.

Megatron outlined a smirk and stepped back, allowing his son to get some personal space. He glanced at the door and yelled: "Galvatron! Get ready to move to the Atlantis!"

**To be continued…**

* * *

I have to apologize for the late update of this story. I have been buried under a pile of work – as usual – and my beta-reader, Krystalmaze – who I thank a lot for her help – has experienced unfortunate problems with her computer. Fate has been against this chapter, but anyway… it is now published. I hope you enjoyed it ;-)


	28. Ch 28: Insecticon's blackmail

I thank all the readers who commented on chapter 27. I unfortunately didn't have much time to send replies.

Many thanks to Krystalmaze for the beta reading of the chapter 28.

**

* * *

Chapter 28: Rise of the Decepticons – Insecticon's blackmail**

**Base 0022, main launch pad. Vessel Atlantis**

The crew of the Atlantis remained silent as the singular cortege entered the main bridge, announcing the imminent blast off of the ship. The newly reinstated Decepticons pretended indifference, comparing the perfection of their Decepticon insignia engraved on their frame and commenting at a low voice the entrance of the four figures. The Autobots engrossed themselves in the last minute checking of the vessel, watching discreetly every move of the four Transformers. Among the onlookers, a white and red Seeker was training his gaze on two of the newcomers; his energy field radiated with both despair and anger, casting the shadows of tragedy.

O

"I suppose you have prepared a confinement area to keep Thanatron in custody?" Megatron asked disdainfully, his grave voice echoing in the vast bridge. "Springer? We agreed that you would be responsible for his transfer, in order to avoid a diplomatic incident with Optimus Prime…" he purred deviously.

The so-addressed olive triple changer replied to him with an equally scornful look, which made the Decepticon leader smirk; he didn't appreciate Autobots in general, as "hate your enemies without exception" was one of his mottos. He sometimes betrayed it, when exceptional character traits – amounting defaults to an Autobot point view- of an opponent raised a glimpse of admiration. This one was obviously a hothead with rather plebeian manners. He liked the style.

"Of course, we have a highly secured cell prepared. I suggest we take him right now." Springer replied with assurance. An almost imperceptible change in his energy field's frequency betrayed that he was slightly impressed by Megatron's aura.

The silver Transformer puffed up with pride, enjoying the respect he inspired to his audience. His pleasure would have been perfect if disturbing waves of anguish didn't reach him from Starscream. _(I'm soon with you, Love.)_ he tried to inform through the comm. channel. The only reply he got was static. _'He's still angry,'_ he concluded, suppressing a sigh.

"Not "we", but "you", Springer," he swiftly replied. "By "you" I mean yourself and Galvatron." He stared at their prisoner, his smile faded a little. "Thanatron is dangerous; you will be escorted by my brother."

"I can deal with the prisoner myself," the Autobot retorted, shooting an angry look at the Salonian general.

The chained prisoner glared back at the two Transformers with a fiery glimmer in his optics. Megatron couldn't help thinking that this unexpected son was a worthy descendant of his family; proud and defiant in any circumstances.

"Stop babbling!" Galvatron cut in, waving in annoyance. He grabbed the chain that kept Thanatron's arms pinned against his upper body and pulled it back. The prisoner welcomed the move with a grunt, but didn't try to resist. "Where is the cell?"

"But-"

"Enough! Tell me where the cell is, so that we can throw him in the cooler. We won't spend our time quibbling on this brig, slag it!" Galvatron groused, pulling again on the chains.

"This way!" Springer pointed reluctantly a gate few meters from them. "I walk in front!" he added as a warning, he didn't intend to lose the lead on this mission.

"About time!" Galvatron retorted and threw a knowing look at his elder brother.

_(Don't leave Thanatron unattended with Springer, and use your comm. link when talking to him.)_ Megatron warned his brother through their personal channel.

_(I know! I'm not stupid!)_

_(Who said you were? I suggest you spend the next cycles giving my dear son the basic knowledge of our family values and our historical background. I guess that it wasn't part of the syllabus concocted by Darkracer.)_

Galvatron chuckled darkly. _(Count on me to restore some respect toward us in his sorry CPU.)_ He assured, dragging Thanatron along.

O

Inner struggle: that was what Starscream had been going through since Cyclonus had hauled him into the brig, asking him peremptorily to wait for Megatron's arrival. The storm that agitated his thoughts raged when his future bond mate showed up, flanked by his hateful son. He could feel pressure building in his spark so dramatically that it became painful. It burned his chest, made his head pound and his optics blur. He tried to push back the haunting idea, but it grew in his mind, echoing like a sinister litany: _'Kill Thanatron. Kill Thanatron. Kill-'_

"Don't!"

The icy voice of Cyclonus and the strong grip on his right arm drove him away from this deadly daydreaming. He stared at the purple starship former, his gaze betraying his confusion. He then realized he had moved as if to walk to Megatron and his son, triggering Cyclonus' reaction.

"Why are you standing here, like a jailer?" he hissed, suddenly pissed at his own lack of self-control.

"Megatron asked me to watch over you when he's not by your side," Cyclonus icily replied. "I have the order to protect you from any kind of danger, including yourself."

"I don't need a body-guard or a baby-sitter!" the Seeker cried as shame was added to the combo of feelings that threatened to fry his emotional network.

"Then, you have to explain it to Megatron himself. I obey orders, nothing more." Cyclonus looked up, "He's coming. I'm leaving it to you to expose him this point," he concluded and walked away.

Starscream no longer dared looking up as the massive shape of Megatron cast his shadow over his frame.

"Love. What's going on? You didn't open you comm. Channel when I requested it," the Decepticon leader asked with a comforting tone.

The Seeker looked away and made out an opened door on a small storage room, not far from them.

"Not here. Please, let's speak over there, where nobody can watch or listen to us," he murmured pleadingly.

"I see."

O

They had just entered the small room when Starscream turned around and leaned against the larger mech, resting his head on his chest and circling his waist with his arms.

"It hurts more, you can't image how hard it is," he whispered of a broken voice. "It's a struggle of every klick, a war against this voice that keeps telling me I should seek revenge, an inferno that devours my body," he added and then sobbed, ready to cry. "I don't know how long I will be able to keep in control. It's like a hole was opening beneath me, swallowing me into a dark place where I would be free to murder your son. Oh Primus, I'm losing my mind!"

Comforting hands caressed his wings and back, pulling him further into the strong embrace.

"You know you can count on me to support you," Megatron assured.

"What can you do if my reason completely vanishes? Can you stop me from killing everybody who would stand on the way to revenge?" Starscream moaned, burying his face into Megatron's shoulder joint. "Since I heard Thanatron has been responsible for my demise – the loss of my family and the poison that runs into my pipes – the fire of hate has been burning in me again. Sometimes I can handle it, and the following klick, I'm losing my mind!" The Seeker trembled, hanging onto the larger mech as if his life depended on it. "The more time flies, the crazier I become. I can't-"

"Oh, yes, you can!" Dark fingers caught delicately Starscream's chin, forcing him to look up. "You're strong, Starscream. You're a steadfast soul, who has always stood firm in the face of adversity – including me." Megatron squashed a pang of regret as he noticed the optics of his lover were glazed over. "I haven't fallen for you, and proposed you a bonding by chance. I have chosen you because you are the only one I am ready to recognize as my equal."

"Were you expecting your equal would surrender so… lamely?" the Seeker asked in a sob. "I'm nothing else than a failure!"

"You're not a failure!" Megatron sealed this strong affirmation by means of a long kiss and pulled away only when he felt Starscream relaxing in his embrace. He cupped the dark face in his hands, slightly reassured to see that some combativeness had come back in the red gaze. "This is the first time you are really fighting against this death wish that plagues you. You can't expect to win the first battle, but I know you will win the war. I will be there to help you."

Megatron let go of his face, allowing Starscream to lean back against his chest, and wrap his arms around his back. Outside the storage room, footsteps were dying away as most of the mechs were heading to the command room of the ship.

"You feel ready to go with them?" he asked.

"I… I'd like that we stay here a few more minutes, if you don't mind," Starscream whispered. "Just the time to pull myself together."

"Take it easy. We are not in a hurry."

O

Skywarp fell heavily on the seat next to Thundercracker. The sensors of his wings still fed back electric disturbances from the burnt metal and circuits, eliciting unpleasant shivers through his neuronal network. He decided to put aside this inconvenience to turn his attention to his wing mate: the blue Seeker's biggest wounds had been repaired, and only superficial dents marred his paint job. Those scraps didn't worry Skywarp – auto repair would erase them within a few days – but the absolute silence of Thundercracker was a kind of scary. He hadn't uttered a sound since his arrival in the ship.

"So… Nurse Skyfire isn't with you?" Skywarp asked casually, peeping in the direction of the white shuttle, who had settled at a nearby a window.

"Don't talk to me about this!" Thundercracker replied with a sigh. "I tried to explain him that there could be no relationship between us, and if there were one, it would be so short-lived than it wouldn't be worth starting, and-"

"And-?" Skywarp stretched his neck, to better read the end of the sentences on the blue Seeker's lips.

"He said that he just wanted to know me."

"Oh, that's not that bad. He doesn't promise you anything, then!" Skywarp addressed him a smug look, "Why don't you give him a try, even for a night, hum? You always have to test equipment before adopting it!" he added.

"Warp'!" Thundercracker looked at him in shock. "How can you speak like this? He's not equipment, and I'm not in the search of a one-night stand!" he retorted vehemently.

"AAAAh Ah!" The optics of the dark Seeker narrowed to a slit. "So you admit you are in search of a true relationship!" he stated triumphantly.

Thundercracker tried to object to Skywarp, but his confusion was so high that he only produced a mere gasp as he lowered his face.

"I don't want to talk about this," he announced unequivocally. He raised a hand and touched the Decepticon insignia engraved in Skywarp's left wing. "Rather, tell me how you got this and why all the other Decepticons are also marked," he whispered.

"Oh, this?" Skywarp couldn't suppress a quiver, flexing his appendages back and forth as he recollected the sensation of the brand melting his plating. "Megatron made a troop review this morning, and decided to boost our faith in the Decepticon cause by reinstating the insignia on our frames," he informed and then pretended to stretch out. "I didn't feel a thing!" he boasted.

"Liar! The wings are our most sensitive body area; such marking must have been a torture." Thundercracker gave out a tired sigh. "I guess I will go through this once arrived at the base 0025," he murmured in defeat.

"Perhaps… not sure. I think it was rather to show us but also Prime that he was still the one in command in this war. A strong warning saying; hey, I'm the boss here!"

"I hope that it is nothing else than a way of bragging!" Thundercracker's expression darkened a little. "Decepticons are nothing in comparison to the whole Empire of Salonia. Restarting the war with the Autobots and attacking the Empire alone would amount to suicide!" he spoke at low voice, checking that nobody else, other than his wing mate was listening.

"That's for sure, TC," Skywarp admitted, allowing Thundercracker's pessimism to briefly get to him.

His good mood quickly came back as he watched a new comer entering the command room. Blue optics met a red gaze; the puzzled expression of the Autobot instantaneously elicited a chuckle.

'_Oh! You must be kidding!'_

O

Thundercracker peeped at his chuckling neighbour and then at the femme who had caused this reaction_. 'Warp', I'd like to be as carefree as you are sometimes,'_ he reflected. His gaze trailed in the other direction, meeting the azure optics of Skyfire, who immediately outlined a warm smile. The Seeker lowered his optics, feeling strange warmth seizing his spark; almost despite his will, he locked his gaze again with the shuttle a few seconds before looking away, definitely feeling awkward.

'_What's wrong with me?'_

**

* * *

Base 0025, Optimus Prime's office**

The truck former sat at his desk, his optics making a sweep of the assistance in the room; Prowl, Jazz, Rodimus Prime, Blaster and Shockwave were waiting impassively, while the image of Ultra Magnus was flickering from time to time on a wall screen.

"Thanks for coming for this crisis meeting. I guess you all have already watched the message sent by the Insecticons, but I suggest we go through it once again."

He pushed a button, awaking a second monitor, hung on the opposite wall of Ultra Magnus' screen. The video opened on a general shot of an air duct, which slowly closed up on a form hanged to the ceiling. The form moved closer to the camera, allowing the watcher to work out it was a giant metal beetle, and finally jumped to land in front of the camera.

"_Greeting, Optimus Prime… Prime. It has been a long time since you have heard about me… me. I will make it short… short: I'm here to offer you a bargain… bargain."_

Shrapnel gestured to the camera, which spun around 180 degrees, showing his two sidekicks, Kickback and Bombshell, standing on either side of a kind of sarcophagus.

"_I'm sure that you have already asked yourself why the Empire has never destroyed this base, haven't you… you? I have the answer… answer: they want this pod… pod. Just imagine what would happen if the Empire retrieved this precious box… box." _

The camera rotated again to shoot a close-up of Shrapnel's face.

"_Here is the bargain, Optimus Prime… Prime: you nominate us as the supreme leaders of this base… base, and we make sure this Sarcophagus never falls on the hands of the Empire… Empire. You have two Earth days to accept it, otherwise… otherwise."_ Shrapnel pressed his face to the camera. _"We trade it to the Empire and…and bye-bye Base 0025… 0025."_

The last sequence ended on Shrapnel falling in the pangs of general hilarity, and the screen went black.

"Scary, isn't it?" Optimus Prime commented and then looked at his tactician. "Prowl, could we identify the location in the base where this video had been filmed?"

"It's somewhere in the forbidden area, but the Insecticons have managed to scramble our radars. We could identify their frequency, and reply to them, that would transfer the message, but the source of transmission is unknown. The search mission organized by the Aerial bots and the Dinobots hasn't been fruitful." Prowl quickly reported.

"Are we sure they're telling the truth about this sarcophagus? Could it be the presence of this pod that prevented the destruction of this base by a massive nuclear attack?"

"We're not sure, Optimus." Shockwave cut in, beckoning Prowl to allow him to pursue the meeting, "We have no evidence, since we don't know what is inside the pod. It could be a trick fomented by the Insecticons to blackmail us, but it could be also the truth. As long as we are not sure, I recommend the highest carefulness."

The reply didn't really satisfy Optimus Prime; he actually suspected that Shockwave had no idea what to do and was just playing for time.

"In concrete terms, what do you suggest?"

"I suggest you play the sly snake, and pretend to agree with their requests. We can set a trap, catch them when they come to the negotiation table and get all the information that we need." The single-optic Transformer stopped, looking hesitant. "Besides, Megatron is on the way back. He's very familiar with such tactics from the Insecticons."

This last remark plunged Optimus Prime into silence, as he evaluated the pertinence of involving his arch nemesis in such a power game. He knew perfectly the long history of plots and betrayals, use and abuse between the Decepticon leader and the Insecticons. However, the recently displayed ambitions of Megatron made him a potential threat for the Cybertronian cohesion.

"I think we should involve Megatron as a last resort," he replied, avoiding going into more details. Only a part of the onlookers were aware of the earlier ceremony at base 0022. "I will conduct the negotiations myself, and if the situation gets off hand, we can involve Megatron," he decided.

He realized he had spoken the last words in an unusual peremptory tone, which allowed no rebuffs. The mechs in front of him nodded silently; only Ultra Magnus dared a "Good luck brothers" before switching off the video link.

"You can go back to your duties. I'm expecting from you a total discretion; nobody else must be aware of what has been said in this meeting."

The mechs left the room without making comments on the situation; even Shockwave wasn't keen on pursuing the discussion.

"Prowl, a few words."

The tactician stopped when he heard his name and threw a questioning look at his high officer.

"Yes, Prime?"

"The Cassettes of Soundwave are working with Blaster, aren't they?" The question was purely rhetorical; he himself had agreed to have them working with the Communication Officer.

"Yes. Is it a problem?"

"Potentially. Please make sure that they don't relay strategic information to Soundwave."

Prowl swallowed hard. "I'm afraid it's going extremely difficult: Frenzy and Rumble have been involved in the search for the Insecticons. They are a precious support to Blaster. Besides, unless we jam their transmitters and comm. link, we have no way to stop them from communicating with Soundwave," he explained worryingly.

"Then, jam their transmitters and comm. link!"

Prowl stared at him in shock. "But-"

"There is no "but", Prowl. Do it! Like me, you have seen the little ceremony organized by Megatron, and heard his speech. We don't know what he is up to. Therefore, I take precautions in order to slow down his run for power. It starts by filtering his access to strategic information," Optimus Prime replied dismissively.

Prowl opened his mouth component to shut it down the following click, not daring uttering a word.

"You can go now, Prowl."

Optimus Prime waited until the tactician had left and his office was back to silence allowing him to relax a little in his chair. Despite the potentially dramatic situation, he outlined a smile beneath his facemask.

'_Right, Megatron. I just need to have your threat in sight to find my combativeness,'_ he reflected.

**

* * *

Vessel Atlantis**

Skywarp waited for the ship to complete its taking off maneuvers to jump out of his chair and walk to the pink femme, puffing his chest in a very Starscream manner. As he expected, Arcee openly turned her face in the opposite direction, and pretended to ignore him when Skywarp stood right in front of her.

"Isn't that my friend Arcee?" he purred.

"I'm not your friend. Leave me alone!"

Such an answer was not discouraging enough for Skywarp, especially when he had a nasty idea in mind. He swiftly took the seat by the side of Arcee, so that she found herself staring at his red optics.

"How dare you!" she barked, raising a hand in the obvious intention to slap him in the face.

She gave out an angry hiss when the dark Seeker caught her wrist and leaned forward to whisper in her audios.

"I'm sure you don't want to make a spectacle of us, do you? Usually, a femme slaps a mech in the face when she has something to blame him for their relationship, hum?"

Shock immediately replaced anger on the face of Arcee. "How dare you hint that you… and me-!" she exclaimed in a paroxysm of disgust.

"Why not? You didn't seem that reluctant back on the battlefield…" Skywarp added, enjoying the development of the situation; Arcee might be angry and shocked, but he was still holding her wrist.

"I was petrified with fear, and you just took advantage!" she retorted.

"Of course, I took advantage! I am a Decepticon!" he scoffed.

"How can you pretend that I liked your disgusting little game?!"

"Because I'm still holding your wrist, and you've done nothing to repel me except whine. Don't tell me you lack strength… I would rather say you lack will," he gloated, leaning closer.

The dull noise of a slap echoed his arrogant comment. Arcee escaped his grasp and stood, glaring angrily at the dark Seeker.

"Who do you think you are? Put this in your sorry mind; I am not interested in a jerk like you! First, because you are the most bastard Decepticon that I have ever met," she shrieked, oblivious that all the Transformers present in the command room were now looking at them. "Secondly; I don't find you handsome or even interesting!" she added, outlining a grimace of disgust. "And lastly: I am already taken!"

Stating the last point, she hastily walked to the door and exited without looking back.

"Wow! Fly Boy has bitten off more than he can chew!" Astrotrain sniggered, applauding loudly.

"Yep, and he got a nice slap in the face as a reward," Blitzwing chuckled.

"Guys, the difference between you and me is that I'm not afraid to try my luck," Skywarp retorted, patting his cheek as he outlined a crazy smile. "Wow! What a smack!"

"Forget her, Warp', this femme is not for you," Octane warned. "I guess Rodimus Prime won't be happy if he hears that you'd tried to mess with his girl friend."

"Rodimus is her boyfriend?" Skywarp's smile became totally wicked. "So Arcee likes idiots? I still have all my chances then," he added triumphantly.

From the far corner, Thundercracker threw him a disapproving look, to which Skywarp replied by a wink and a shrug of his shoulders. _'Hey, TC. You have Skyfire at your knees; Starscream has Megatron in his spark… I have the right to try having somebody in my berth at least for a night!'_

**

* * *

Vessel Makahara**

Darkracer covered with an angry look the upside-down command room and took a last mouthful, emptying the cube she held in her hand. She threw it to the floor, where it crashed along the five other cubes she had boozed during the past cycles.

"Idiot! Why did you have to be taken prisoner? I thought you would be strong enough to fight Megatron in person. You really disappointed me, my son!" she muttered, glaring into space as if Thanatron was standing in front of her. She sighed heavily and then called her servant. "Elita!"

The so-addressed femme emerged from the shadows of a corridor.

"You shouldn't blame him. He fought bravely, against two powerful opponents. Your son was an honor to you." The pink femme stated.

"How dare you say that!? Are you trying to insinuate that I am not an honor to Thanatron?" Darkracer hissed, standing from her seat. Her energon intoxication made her stagger and grab the desk in front of her. "I raised him as a proud warrior, and what does he do to thank me? He becomes the prisoner of my worst enemy!" she shrieked, almost falling forward while gesturing wildly.

"Do you even love him?"

Darkracer chuckled when she read true indignation in the blue optics of Elita One.

"Who do you think you are for questioning my feelings towards the son I have been fighting for since his conception? He's been raised as a warrior to seek revenge from his hateful father, and it's how he rewards me!" Darkracer pretended to sob, wiping away an imaginary tear. "He falls in the hands of Megatron!"

"Thanatron loves you: you shouldn't doubt him!"

"Silence!" Darkracer raised a shaking hand as a small gun emerged from a subspace. She fired at the pink femme, who ran back to her hallway for cover. "You're not in a position to lecture me! Be useful and bring me other energon cubes!" she groaned, miraculously keeping her balance as her fist pounded the metal of her desk.

"I think you should stop drinking!" The voice of Elita One was trembling. "This won't make things any better!"

"Maybe not, but it will at least ease my anger and my pain! Now, go and bring me those slagging energon cubes!" she barked, ready to fire again.

Elita One didn't try to argue further and left the place, heading to the personal energon reserve of Darkracer, leaving the black femme to her drunkenness. To her relief, the quantity of high-grade that she had absorbed was starting to make its effect, leaving her apathetic and insensitive. It was exactly what she wanted; to feel nothing and ignore the dark clouds that were tarnishing her future. She had prepared her plan for so long, plotting in the shadows for Megatron's demise, raising her son as the deadly weapon who would kill the tyrant at the most appropriate occasion. _For what result?!_ Seeing the beast rising from his own ashes, threatening to destroy everything she had built as easy as demolishing a house of cards.

She had to kill Megatron, whatever it would cost.

"Counsellor Nyxerys, may I have your attention a few clicks?" The insect-like face of Griboo's successor appeared on the main screen of her desk.

"What do you want?" she replied ill-humorously, not happy to be seen in such a state of weakness by a Salonian subordinate.

"We caught an internal transmission in base 0025. I think it might be in your interest," the Salonian officer replied. His image disappeared to be replaced by the first scene of a record, obviously taken from an air duct. Darkracer couldn't help but gape at the scene when the familiar shape of a sarcophagus appeared. A devious smile graced her lips as she realized the three Transformers of the movie were blackmailing the Commander of the base, threatening to sell the pod to the Empire.

"So sweet words reaching my audios," she purred with a languid air. "At last, the emergency pod of High Commander Telorus, the son of the Emperor of Salonia, is found." She chuckled darkly; "If I can get my hands on it and retrieve it from the base, there will be no more reason to hesitate and burn it to ashes. Including you, Megatron!"

She allowed herself a few clicks of insane laughing, until the image of the officer reappeared on the screen.

"Counsellor Nyxeris, what do you order?"

"Take all measures to localize those three insect Transformers. I'm ready to make an offer to them, whatever they want, to get this treasure back!" she ordered.

"At your command!"

The screen crackled with static and then went black, leaving the command room in a relative silence. Somehow sobered up by this strategic information, Darkracer activated a private comm. link she hadn't used since the occupation of Earth.

"Kraken! Acknowledge!"

Static echoed in her audios before a deep and rich voice answered her call.

_(Darkracer, what a surprise! You're being too kind remembering that I still exist… Why are you calling?)_

"Spare me your sarcasm. I'm not in the mood," she replied, annoyed by the mocking tone of Kraken. "Megatron is still alive."

Her interlocutor chuckled annoyingly, as if to say: "I've told you!"

_(It looks as if your son hasn't fulfilled the task he was in charge of…)_

"Thanatron is currently prisoner to Megatron," she informed dryly.

New annoying chuckle. Darkracer could perfectly imagine the scold that was certainly lightening Kraken's face at the moment. It made her want to shoot him.

_(I'm afraid that you'll have to give up all hope regarding your son… Megatron is a talented manipulator. He will try to set Thanatron against you. I guess he will be successful, as your heir already betrayed you, twenty Earth years ago.)_

"I'm sure he had a reason for that!" Darkracer retorted vehemently, not willing to acknowledge the facts. Yes, Thanatron had betrayed her.

_(Like… he refused to kill his father and his followers, because he believed more in Megatron than in you, hum?)_

That was the straw that broke the camel's back. Darkracer saw red.

"Shut up, you idiot!" she shouted. "I'm not calling you to be the victim of your slander, but to give you orders. You and Dark Nebula will come to Earth, and help me in definitely getting rid of Megatron and take back the pod of Telorus to the Emperor." She groaned.

_(But the Emperor has assigned us to the conquest of other planets than Earth. We can't leave our positions like this!)_ Kraken protested.

"I'll take care of negotiating your new assignment, directly with the Emperor," she retorted. "You have two megacycles."

She cut the comm. channel in order to avoid further questioning and rebuff from Kraken. He had been one of her accomplices for eons, plotting with her to usurp the leadership of the Decepticons from Megatron and Galvatron, and she knew him well. She admired the warrior but hated the braggart that constantly challenged her patience. She would have to show him who was in command at his arrival. Darkracer outlined a predatory smile at the thought, and covered with a dreamy look her destroyed command room. She then realized that Elita-One was back, holding up three energon cubes.

"How long have you been waiting here?" she asked, suspecting the pink femme had listened to her conversation.

"I have just come back."

Darkracer's optics narrowed to a slit as she carefully studied the energy field of her servant. No sudden power surge or changes of frequency betrayed that she was lying.

"Put them on the desk and leave!"

The femme complied at the order and took her leave, bowing respectfully as she retreated in the hallway. Once the door was closed, and her privacy finally assured, she picked up a cube and sipped it, savoring in anticipation her triumph.

"With or without your help, Thanatron, I'm going to take down your father!"

O

Elita-One leaned back into the wall of the hallway and raised her hand to her chest, feeling her spark pulsing hard beneath her plating. Darkracer had recalled her old accomplices and seemed very determined to destroy her former lover. If she managed to recover the pod of the Salonian Prince, base 0025 would certainly be quickly pulverized by a massive nuclear attack. Thanatron would die. Optimus Prime would die as well.

She had to find a way to warn them before things went beyond the point of no return.

**To be continued**


	29. Ch 29: Negotiations

Many thanks for all the reviews for chapter 28. Here is chapter 29, which ends the part "Rise of the Decepticons".

I thanks a lot Krystalmaze for a speedy beta-reading.

**

* * *

Chapter 29: Rise of the Decepticons – Negotiations **

**Base 0025, the forbidden area**

Optimus Prime entered the hangar, beckoning Rodimus Prime to stay outside. The place was dark and deserted, completely silent. Remains of Salonian Stalkers were scattered on the floor, last traces of the battle that had brought down the vessel 25 Earth years before.

"I am here, as you requested!" Optimus stated, scanning his surroundings in search of the Insecticons.

A light buzzing answered him, followed by muffled crunching. The Autobot leader switched on his infrared, making a sweep of his surrounding. The same noise came from three different directions, leading him to believe the three bug formers where coming from different directions.

'_They're certainly up to something. A trap, perhaps?'_ Optimus Prime wondered. That was fair enough: he was also trying to trick the Insecticons, after all.

"Do you hear me, Insecticons?! I came alone, as per your request, and I don't have my blaster. Come out so that we can negotiate!" he called again.

"Don't be so hasty, Prime… Prime. We all have our time… time!"

The droning voice of Shrapnel echoed in his audios like a threatening whisper. Looking twice, he saw that a form was hanging onto the ceiling, 300 meters from him, at the entrance of a second hangar. The leader of the Insecticons wasn't the only bug to show his face in the desolated hangar: two other Insecticons had shown up at the entrance of the hallways, connecting the Stalkers' repair bay to another hangar and the nearest launch pad. They were blocking three exit ways out of four, leaving only the door behind him as a way out.

'_I'm not completely surrounded… Besides, Rodimus Prime is here in reinforcement,"_ Optimus Prime told himself, trying to relax. "We don't have as much time as you believe, Shrapnel, he retorted. "I consider your little blackmail as extremely damageable and I intend to knock back some common sense in your CPU!"

"Oh, don't even think about it, Autobot… Autobot! We know what we want, and all your nice speeches about the great Fraternity of all Cybertronians will change nothing… nothing!"

Optimus Prime bit his lips under his facemask; the Insecticons were determined to go to the end of their blackmail, and he would have to be extremely tactful to get the sarcophagus.

"Easy, Shrapnel. As I mentioned, I came to negotiate." Optimus replied, lowering his pitch to avoid the conversation getting off hand. "If first you told me what this Sarcophagus is, hum? We could find a compromise!" he added, his voice trying to be friendly.

"I tell you once again, Prime, the only negotiation we're ready to agree with is the surrender of the base 0025 to us… us!" the mechanical stag beetle hissed. "As it seems that you don't understand that you're not in a situation for negotiating… negotiating, but to obeying… obeying, let me put some points in the figure… figure." The maniacal bug gave out an amused laugh. "The sarcophagus is a stasis pod, containing the body of a Salonian Prince… Prince. This explains why the base has never been blasted to oblivion by the nuclear equipments of the mother ship… ship, stationed above our heads."

"How do you know this?" Optimus Prime was a little surprised that the Insecticons had reached such a level of knowledge about this curious pod.

"Because, we already contacted the mother ship… mother ship. Believe me; if you don't want to pay the price for the sarcophagus, we sell it to Nyxerys, in exchange for a rank in the Salonian army… army. And you, and your base, we'll be pulverized as soon as she gets her hands on it… it."

Optimus Prime's optics narrowed to a slit as the gravity of the situation clearly appeared to him. "Nyxerys?" he asked.

**

* * *

Vessel Atlantis**

"I don't want to fall asleep."

Starscream moaned, clutching Megatron's shoulders, begging his lover to not let him fall into recharge. But the warlord ignored his pleas and kept caressing his cheeks, murmuring comforting words in his audios. He knew perfectly well there was no other ending to this new fit but recharge. Starscream had managed to keep his anger under control, but the result was the same as if he had thrown a tantrum: his energy was drained, and he was exhausted.

"No… I can't fall asleep." Starscream nodded gently and finally rested his forehead on Megatron's neck. "No I can't… I won't remember, again."

"Shh… You need to sleep a little."

Megatron kept cradling him in his arms until he was sure the Seeker was offline. He then activated his comm. Link, in search of a particular frequency.

"Soundwave! Acknowledge."

_(I receive you sound and clear, Megatron.)_

"Can you find if there are some personal quarters on this ship? Starscream is not feeling good."

_(At your command, my leader.)_

Megatron shifted Starscream on his lap so that he was more comfortably seated, and waited until Soundwave recalled him. The communication Officer quickly came back to him, giving the coordinates of a private room nearby the command room.

"Perfect, meet me there."

O

Soundwave was already in the room when Megatron arrived, Starscream comfortably cradled in his arms like a sleeping sparkling.

"What happened?"

"He's been a little overworked since the battle. He just needs… some sleep," Megatron replied, not willing to embark on long explanations about Starscream's faintness.

Soundwave didn't utter a word and even stepped back, watching Megatron as he laid his Seeker on the berth and covered him with a thermal blanket. Engrossed in his task of setting Starscream comfortably, he didn't realize that his lieutenant was unclasping his facemask.

"Is it because of the disk he held in his chest?" Soundwave finally asked with his droning voice.

"What?" Megatron looked up and threw him an interrogative look, which soon turned to a glare as he recognized the High-Guard. "You? You are a High-Guard!" the tyrant roared. He paused, his optics narrowing to a slit as he extracted a name from the depth of his memory bank. "You… Mindtwister!"

"I had to tell you the truth… at last." Soundwave replied, and lowered his optics.

"At last?!" Megatron walked around the berth and strode along to Soundwave. He grabbed his Communication Officer by the neck and slammed his back into the wall with all the strength he could muster. The blue mech winced in pain but didn't dare look up. "At last, you traitor. Are you kidding me?!" Megatron grabbed his chin and forced his face up. "Look at me in the optics when I talk to you."

"I wanted to be a Decepticon, but you would have never let me enter your army. I thus decided to pretend to be Soundwave, and made all my best efforts to get your trust." Soundwave hiccuped when the grip on his throat tightened. "I have never ceased to be loyal to you, Megatron. I swear!" he pleaded. "I will never cease to believe in you."

"Silence!" The Decepticon leader emphasized his order by a strong punch in Soundwave's stomach. The blue jet former hissed in pain and clawed at Megatron's wrist in a very Starscream way. "I should kill you right now for this treachery!" Megatron roared, squeezing even more strongly.

O

Soundwave was experiencing something he had never been confronted with; the fear of dying. He now understood what Starscream felt every time the tyrant was looming over him, burning him with his angry glare and crushing his vocal processor. It was a taste of hell, a terrible experience from which it wasn't possible to emerge unhurt.

"However, I won't kill you!" the tyrant stated, loosening a little his grasp. He set his face closer, his burning optics lightening the features of the now scarred Communication Officer. "You're lucky to be useful to the Decepticon army, Soundwave. That doesn't mean everything is forgotten and certainly not forgiven; you can kiss your rank of third in command goodbye." Megatron spat angrily and then smirked. "I will keep an optic on you; put one foot wrong and you're dead. Understood?"

The Decepticon leader smashed him violently on the wall and glared so intensely at him that Soundwave could feel the heat coming from Megatron's optics, radiating on his faceplate.

"Ye- Yes, my leader. I will be loyal to you!" he stuttered.

"You'd better be!" Megatron released his prey and stepped back, allowing a smirk to grace his features when he saw Soundwave was trembling like a leaf. "Now, go away and tell Cyclonus to come here A.S.A.P." he ordered.

"At- At your command!"

Soundwave didn't need any other persuasion to escape the presence of the terrible leader. He managed to walk away from him without staggering and reached the door with relief. He threw a last look at Starscream as he left and sighed. No, there was no way that he confessed his past feelings for the Seeker. Megatron would simply kill him if he knew. He had already pushed his luck too far.

**

* * *

Base 0025, the forbidden area**

"Yes, Nyxerys: the High-Counsellor of the Salonian Emperor." Optimus recognized the hissy voice of Bombshell. "She contacted us right after we sent you our message. She's a wise a negotiator, who proposed a deal to us."

"A very good deal, to be more precise: that means that we will raise the stake with you… Mwaah!" Kickback burst out laughing, soon imitated by his two sidekicks.

Despite his brave and courageous nature, Optimus Prime had the premonition that the Insecticons would carry things to extremes, which worried him a lot.

"Therefore, Optimus Prime… Prime, the first thing you will have to do to convince us… us, will be to bow to us and plead allegiance to the Insecticons… Insecticons." Shrapnel had crept close enough to the truck Transformer so that Optimus Prime could see the devilish grin of the stag beetle. "On your knees, Prime… Prime!"

The Autobot leader clenched his fist with anger, as a conflict broke out in his CPU. He was keen on buying some time for his lieutenants to find a way to trap the Insecticons. But in another way, million of years of war against Megatron had forged his temperament of warrior, and he refused to be humiliated for nothing. He had always refused submitting to humiliation or orders coming from enemies. This time wouldn't be an exception.

_(Rodimus… Be ready to intervene!)_ he informed his second in command through the comm. link. _(__This has gone on long enough!)_

_(I agree, Prime. I have Shrapnel in my line of fire. Just dive down when I shoot.)_

_(At 3, we stop this nonsense.)_

A panel on the right foot of Optimus Prime shifted open, unveiling a middle-seized riffle that the Autobot leader had wisely hidden there before coming to this sham negotiation.

_(3!)_

Optimus Prime fell to his knees, while a laser shot almost grazed at the metal of his head, ending up in the face of Shrapnel. Quick as the light, he grabbed his weapon and aimed at Kickback, whho fell from the ceiling. Having excellent reflexes, he left no chances at Bombshell, who met up with his friends on the ground.

"Hold your fire!" Optimus shouted at Rodimus, and then hurried to the three bodies, which were unmoving.

"You think we have deactivated them?" Rodimus asked, standing by his side.

"That's strange. We haven't shot to kill them, but they look pretty much dead," Optimus murmured, turning over the body of Kickback. He immediately understood his mistakes as he saw the features of the Insecticon. "Fall back, Rodimus! These are clones of the Insecticons. We've fallen in a trap!" he screamed, grabbing the younger bot by the elbow as he ran to the exit.

They didn't go that far when laser shots hit them in the back.

O

The optics of Prowl narrowed in horror as he saw Optimus and Rodimus falling to the ground, back smoking as more laser shots hit them, lightening up the scene sinisterly.

"Red alert!" he screamed through the general comm. Link. "Optimus and Rodimus are in danger. All action teams go to sector XW-GHY325. Rescue mission urgent!"

**

* * *

Vessel Atlantis**

Cyclonus stood silently beside the berth, covering the two Transformers with an icy look. He wasn't surprised to see Starscream lying unconscious in the arms of the older flier. The state of confusion of the Seeker had been a warning sign of his upcoming faintness.

"You asked me to come, my Lord?" he asked, hiding the fact he perfectly knew the reason for his notification.

"Yes. As I mentioned previously, I want you to watch over Starscream while I am not here," Megatron replied, laying the unconscious flier back on the berth. "I need to catch up with Galvatron about the prisoner. Stay with Starscream until I come back."

"If I may give you my opinion, sir, there's a word or two I'd like to tell you about this role." Cyclonus said without hesitation.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I am not the best person to watch over Starscream," the Air Commander stated. "Starscream needs to be watched over by somebody who can comfort him. He needs to be protected psychologically, and this is something I can't do."

"I asked you to be his body guard as Starscream can be extremely violent when he gets off hand." Megatron retorted, flashing his optics in annoyance. "I need somebody who can physically restrain him. That's why I asked you to watch over him. I know your quality of warrior very well: don't forget I was there when Galvatron chose you as disciple."

O

_Megatron chuckled as he watched his brother getting rid of his opponent with an outrageous easiness. If his internal clock was right, they had gotten rid of five gladiators in less than half a cycle, showing once again that they were the kings of the arena. He glared at the last gladiator still standing, who was doing his best to refrain the shaking of his body as Galvatron walked in his direction with a threatening look in the optics. The young gladiator might be tall and strongly built, but he was obviously too young and inexperienced to stand a chance against his brother._

"_Get rid of him so that we can have our energon cube. I'm starting to be thirsty!" he groaned, wiping away some energon droplets on his axe._

"_Don't worry; he has no chance against me. I'll crush him in a nanoklick!" Galvatron retorted and laughed at his frightened opponent: "I don't see how a mech whose helmet looks like the ears of a petro-rabbit can be a threat for me!"_

"_Shut up!" the young mech retorted, throwing himself into the attack. _

_Galvatron waited until the last time to draw aside, cutting the plating in the mech's mid-section with his axe. The young gladiator fell to his knees, holding up his wounded area with a cry of pain. _

"_Nice try. But you're not quick enough to be a real threat for me," Galvatron sneered, placing the sharp angle of his axe against the mech's neck. "When you charge, keep silent if you don't want to be too predictable!"_

_He was to cut the head off the young gladiator when his captive sent him a strong punch in the chest, forcing him to stand back. Galvatron grunted in annoyance and grabbed the impudent one by the throat, holding him up to optic range._

_"I must recognize you're a tough one. You managed to hit me, congratulation!" the purple gladiator groaned sinisterly. "What's your name, lad?"_

_He squeezed strongly the neck of his young captive when the later refused to reply. "Cy- Cyclonus is my name." The inexperienced gladiator breathed, clawing at the hand that threatened to break his neck._

"_Well, Cyclonus, I like your style!" A strong punch in the so named robot's face was enough to put him out of commission. The young gladiator lay unconscious in the grip of Galvatron, who smirked at his brother and then grabbed Cyclonus' body to hurl him on his shoulder._

"_What are you doing?" Megatron growled. "Don't tell me you're going to burden yourself with this little upstart!"_

"_I like his style," Galvatron retorted and walked past him. "He has guts. Facing death from my axe, most of the mechs only whine or beg for their life. He struck back because he knew he had nothing to lose. He was beyond fear. I can do something of him." _

_Megatron looked at his brother with a kind of disbelief. "Since when have you been interested by somebody else than you?" he scoffed._

"_Since I've seen this lad," Galvatron retorted laconically. _

O

"I have to say you impressed me that day. It's why I have decided to put Starscream in your hand. I trust you to protect Starscream from himself when I'm not here."

"I think it would be better for your second in command to be watched over by his wing mates. As I mentioned previously, he needs comfort: they can help him." Megatron frowned as he pondered the advice. "I can watch over them, of course," Cyclonus quickly added, as he understood the reluctance of the warlord. "But I think the contact of his wing mates can be beneficial to Starscream."

Megatron lowered his gaze to the Seeker as a light moan escaped the dark lips; Starscream was in pain.

"Fair enough. Call Thundercracker and Skywarp," he finally ordered. "But stay in the neighborhood."

**Half a cycle later**

Skywarp and Thundercracker knocked at the door with wariness, deeply moved by the fear they had seen in Soundwave's visor. The Communication Officer had come back to the Command Room, trembling like a leaf. He had carefully avoided giving explanation about his current agitation. The two Seekers had concluded that Megatron had discovered Soundwave was a High Guard, and had been pissed of by the news. They didn't see any good coming of all this.

Then Cyclonus had stood in front of them, looking colder than before, and had enjoined them to go to a certain private quarters where Megatron was waiting for them. He had just mentioned that _it was a sensible point for Megatron_, and that _he would be their back up_. That was the most frightening.

"Come in."

The voice of Megatron pierced the door and froze them with fear. Surely, Megatron was upset. The two jets responded nervously with a quiver of their wings. "Yes sir," Skywarp eventually replied, forcing his hand to not shake as he pressed the button to open the door.

The two Seekers stepped inside the small quarters with even more caution, realizing they were witnessing a private scene, a moment of intimacy shared by the warlord and his future mate. Sat at the edge of the berth, was Megatron caressing lazily his Seeker, cherishing his wing, punctuating the caresses with kisses on his lips and on his forehead. The expression of their wing mate surprised them: Starscream looked serene and relaxed, deprived of his usual nervousness that pushed him to grimace uncontrollably.

"Is there something wrong with Starscream, my lord?" Thundercracker ventured.

"He just needs some rest and observation I can't stay here the whole flight, as I must catch up with Galvatron and check the prisoner," Megatron quickly explained, getting up with reluctance. "As Starscream's wing mates, you are in a good position to sit up with him."

Skywarp was to argue that the relationship with Starscream had never been the same since the Seeker had owned up to trying to destroy Earth, with his fellow Decepticons still stationed on the mud ball, but he finally bit his glossa and kept silent. It wasn't exactly the good time to provoke the Decepticon leader.

"Yes, at your command, my lord," the purple Seeker replied, elbowing Thundercracker so that the blue Jet spoke the same way. His wing mate nodded silently in acceptance, certainly feeling the growing tension on Megatron's energy field.

The decepticon leader walked passed them and stopped in front of Thundercracker, eying him with an unreadable expression.

"Yes… Yes my Lord?" the blue Jet asked, nervousness reaching a peak as his spark beat wildly in his chest.

"I see that you don't have a Decepticon insignia on your body," Megatron voiced sternly. "This is a situation you will have to remedy as soon as we're back to Base 0025. Engraving or painting… I leave you the choice. Engraving would be better, however."

Thundercracker stared blankly at the warlord and nodded again silently, words missing to express his worries about this brutal ceremony.

**

* * *

Base 0025, Main Repair Bay**

"Easy, Optimus. Easy. Don't get excited: you're going to worsen your wounds."

The voice of Ratchet came to his audios with a light static, forcing him to power on his optics. Optimus Prime realized he was lying on a repair berth, face down, and was unable to move even a servo.

"What happened?" he breathed tiredly.

"The Insecticons trapped you and shot you in the back. They sent clones to this parody of a negotiation," the CMO informed as he resumed his work on the truck former's back. "Prowl has ordered the tracking of the original Insecticons in the forbidden area, but I'm afraid Shrapnel and his friends will be very difficult to hunt out."

"Tell… Tell him to order the black out of all outbound communications. The Insecticons are negotiating with the enemy to give them the sarcophagus," Optimus Prime explained with difficulty. "We must stop this, otherwise, we're dead."

"Don't worry, Prime. He has already taken the measure, as he had listened to your brief conversation with those slagging bugs. Now, rest and let me repair you!" Ratchet said, forcing his voice to be more authoritative than usual.

Exhausted, Optimus rested his head on the cool metal, and said nothing, trying to gather his thoughts. Pain and the horrible feeling of being useless clouded his mind, and suddenly, he thought the unthinkable. There was still a solution, and he knew the only person who was able to put it into practice.

"Tell Prowl to contact Megatron and inform him about the situation?" Optimus said with no reluctance in the voice. "Megatron must be ready to intervene in this crisis as soon as the Atlantis is back to base." The Autobot leader felt his level of energy fall as his motor system signalled an immediate stasis to prevent further damages. "Tell Prowl that I give all power to Megatron to stop the Insecticons!"

The blue optics went black as Optimus Prime entered stasis mode, leaving the CMO in a dark mood.

"You heard him, Prowl, didn't you?" he asked, well aware that not one scrap of the conversation had passed the tactician. He had to admit he had voluntarily let the communicator open with Prowl's office.

"I've heard. I am not sure that on the long-term, it is wise to give all powers to this tyrant. But he's the only one able to stop this mess," the tactician admitted. "I'm going to contact Megatron immediately."

**

* * *

Vessel Atlantis**

"Hum…. Where am I?" moaned Starscream as he put on his optics.

"Shh. Easy, Screamer, Megatron told us that you needed some rest."

The Seeker startled a little as he recognized the voice of Thundercracker and looked up, recognizing the blue Jet, flanked by his purple sibling. "What are you doing here, you two?" he asked. "It's not like you to be watching over me."

"You are an unrewarding little brat, Screamer." Skywarp retorted. "Although you have been a bad little bitch with us, we have always tried to avoid you the biggest problems with Megatron. But for your record-" Skywarp bent forward, throwing him a knowing look. "Your future fiancé ordered us to take over for him by your bedside. He had something important to do with the prisoner if I'm correct."

The mood of the Air Commander seemed to darken a little. "Thanatron… Of course, I should have guessed Megatron would be with him, and not with me," he moaned with a broken voice.

Starscream sighed, his optics quickly filled with tears.

"What are you whining about? Hey, Screamer! You're really starting to scare me!" Skywarp protested, seizing the hand of the crying Seeker. "Frankly, you have managed to transform the worst megalomaniac of the Universe into a devoted lover, gentle as a lamb." The purple Jet looked over his shoulder, checking that the so-called "gentle megalomaniac" wasn't listening to his speech. "Knowing your little obsession for him, you should be happy, Screamer!"

"You should try and tell us what's wrong with you for once, Starscream," Thundercracker added, mirroring the position of Skywarp at the other side of the berth. "You are not forced to face your problems alone, you know."

Once again, Starscream's spark burnt as if it was breaking in two in his chest; tears ran down his cheek as a horrible feeling that he didn't deserve any attention sent him deeper in a dark despair. He didn't deserve Megatron's love after all his nasty betrayals; that's why the warlord was abandoning him for his son. He didn't deserve the kindness of the two Seekers; he had just been rude with them, considering them as tools that could be sacrificed blindly for his crazy ambitions.

"Hey! Hey! Screamer, for Primus sake, stop crying!" Skywarp exclaimed in panic, wiping away the tears with his thumb. "If Megatron comes back and see you crying, he's going to tear us apart!" he added, shaking his head in disgust as he replayed a past scene starring Starscream being beaten to a pulp by their mighty leader, and then replaced the shiny colors of the body sprawled in a pool of energon by his paint job.

"He's right, Starscream. I don't know why you're crying, little one. Megatron loves you passionately. You should be happy!" Thundercracker completed, caressing a white wing, brushing with shaking hands the engraved purple insignia. "You finally got what you had longed for million years: Megatron's love. What's wrong with that?"

Starscream sobbed as his tears doubled. "Thanatron is Megatron's son," he chocked. "He poisoned me and now he's taking Megatron away from me."

O

The two Seekers listened to Starscream with utter bewilderment, not stopping their caressing of his wings or holding his hands. The Jet could merely speak, a deep emotion and his tears strangling his voice. It however made sense, as this story of disk explained the incoherent and hieratic behavior of Starscream.

"I'm sorry… I'm sorry for trying to kill you," the poor Jet concluded, suffocating with tears.

"That's all right, Screamer. And you know, I prefer when you insult me rather than when you cry!" Skywarp softly retorted, caressing Starscream's cheek, wiping the energon tears with a corner of the thermal blanket. "You're not fun at all, now, and I don't feel like making a prank on you," he added, looking sad. "Now, you will be a good Decepticon and take a nap, and shout insults at us once you awake, hum?"

Thundercracker kissed a blue hand and caressed affectionately a dark cheek. "Warp' is right, Screamer. You need rest. It's best to sleep on it, as humans say. I'm sure you will see your life differently after a good nap." He assured with a genuine smile.

Exhausted by all his emotions, Starscream moaned some additional incoherent words until his optics went dark and he fell back into recharge, leaving his wing mates more moved than at their arrival.

"Primus… I would have never imagined that! Now, that changes my opinion about the little Slagger!" Skywarp whispered, caressing the distressed face of the sleeping flier. "What can we do for him?"

"Showing him that he counts is the best way to help him, Warp'. I have the feeling that, sometimes, he is unable to process correctly," the blue Jet responded, caressing a blue arm. "We'd better be by his side and prevent him from doing something silly." He looked up, staring at Skywarp's optics. "I guess it's why Megatron asked us to come. He can't be there all the time and he needs somebody to watch over Starscream."

"Yes, right." Skywarp nodded, looking unusually serious. He then grimaced: "Some good advice. Don't mention to Screamer that Skyfire hangs around you. He doesn't need to blow another fuse," he spoke sternly. "His CPU is already bugged enough."

All that Thundercracker could do was to agree silently.

**

* * *

Vessel Atlantis**

Megatron tapped nervously the code at the entrance of the detention chamber, as his CPU was again beset by worries about Starscream. Shared between his love for the destabilized Seeker and his duty of Decepticon leader, he was an easy prey for guilt. Whatever he would do, either his love or his army would suffer from his decisions. It didn't count for him in the past; he ruled like a tyrant and didn't care if his orders had negative impacts on his men or on his treacherous second in command. But now that he knew that his feelings for Starscream were shared and returned, that his Decepticons still trusted him deeply for leading them, it hurt.

'_I should have stayed with Starscream. He must believe that I abandoned him for Thanatron. I hope that his wing mates will find the right words to comfort him,'_ he reflected with sadness. He waited for a few kliks to recompose himself before stating his identity. "It's Megatron, I came for the changing of guard."

"Mwaa! Go back to your bird! I'm handling everything here!" came the answer of Galvatron.

"Galvy, open this door immediately!"

"Mwaah!" The door finally slid open on the hilarious purple Con', who blocked completely the entry. "I haven't finished my duty here, brother. Come back later!"

"I need you in the command room. I'll take your shift," Megatron retorted.

Galvatron smirked and opened his comm. link.

_(I haven't finished telling him about our family, our origins, and our customs…)_

_(I can tell him!)_

_(The problem is that he's listening to me and seems interested in what I'm telling him. On the other hand, he's still angry against you. If you want to coax him into cooperating, leave it to me.)_

Megatron groaned in annoyance but decided to heed to his brother's advice. Maybe it was too early to discuss coolly with his son.

O

"Who was it? Megatron?" Springer inquired.

"If you know who it was, why do you ask?" Galvatron scoffed.

Springer glared at him, offended at mocked in front of the prisoner. "I prefer when you say nothing!" The green Triple Changer replied angrily.

"You will be happy: I don't intend to discuss with you!"

"Perfect!"

With a last flaming glare, Springer returned to his data pad. Galvatron chuckled lightly at the thought that he was totally oblivious of the discussion he had with Thanatron through a private communication channel. _The idiot!_

_(So, where were we?)_ He asked the prisoner.

_(What did Megatron want?)_ Thanatron enquired angrily.

_(To speak with you…)_

The hands of the Salonian general tightened on the armrests as sign of irritation.

_(To tell me lies about his reasons to try and kill my mother? To find a good excuse for pushing her into a melting pit? All of this for the good of the Decepticons!) _

_(Precisely.)_

The dark hands balled into a fist.

_(What happened in this melting pit?)_ Thanatron asked through gritted teeth.

_(At last, you want to know our version!)_ Galvatron outlined a smile, very different from his scowls, frowns or smirks: it was sincere. _(I observed you during the past cycle. Your optics were shining with interest each time I mentioned the name of your father. You discovered other sides of Megatron, not as dark as your mother told you. He can be admired and be someone reliable. He's not that bloodthirsty beast that your mother made you hate. This realisation planted the seed of doubts in your mind. Am I right?)_ Galvatron saw the hands of Thanatron were now set flat on the armrests. _(I can tell you what really happened if you feel ready to listen to it!)_

Thanatron lowered the optics, and was deep in his thoughts during long minutes. He finally stared back at Galvatron. _(Tell me!)_ he urged.

**Command Room**

As soon as the door opened, Megatron made a sweep of the place with blazing optics, checking the status of his troops. The exercise was purely rhetorical, aiming at cooling down his boiling energon. The idea that his son complied to cooperate with Galvatron – and not with his father – pissed him off the most. Pushing aside the urge to punch the frame of the door to vent his anger, he walked in, minding the position of each member of his team. Blitzwing, Astrotrain and Octane were playing an Earthling game – _Poker?_ Soundwave sat on a corner, and carefully avoiding his glare. Dirge was quietly talking with Skyfire. In the middle of the room, Scourge studied the figures of the flight, finding whatever interest in them.

Everything was clear.

Megatron outlined a grimace of annoyance and decided that indeed, he should spend the rest of the flight at the bedside of Starscream. He was to leave when his com. link biped panicky.

_(What?!)_ he groaned.

(_Megatron? It's Prowl. I need to talk to you immediately!_)

_(Aren't you talking with me at this point?)_ he retorted with annoyance.

The tactician ignored the mockery and briefed him about the Insecticon's blackmail and its recent developments. The words "You have carte blanche to solve the crisis and stop the Insecticons" echoed in his audios like a sweet symphony. His Machiavellian mind, quick with plotting, came with various plans in nanoklicks.

_(Is it possible for this ship to come back to the base discreetly?) _

_(You mean?) _

_(Underwater.) _

_(The Atlantis can operate as a submarine, and we have a ramp underwater to welcome it.) _

Megatron outlined a devious smirk, while his spark started to beat hard in his chest.

_(Then, we'll arrive underwater. It must be a secret: if the Insecticons come to know I'm back to base, they will never come to the next negotiation round.) _

_(Which negotiation round?)_ the tactician asked warily.

_(The one you will lead. Call the Insecticons and ask for a second chance, in 12 cycles. It will be enough for me to arrive and set a trap for them.) _

_(You know how to trap them?)_

The gaze of Megatron fell on Soundwave.

(_Just say I have the right tool to do it. Now, cut all communication links. Nothing must transpire. If you have something to tell me, do it through Soundwave's Cassettes private Comm. Channels. Megatron out.)_

Cutting the link with Prowl, he immediately called his Decepticons through a common channel.

_(Listen to me, all. I have just been warned than the perfect opportunity to take the lead of base 0025 is under the grasp of our army. In less than 12 Earth hours, we'll have to lead a commando operation that we must not fail.) _He covered his audience with a flaming stare. _(Thundercracker, record my explanations for Starscream, in case he wants to join us once he has recovered. Here is the situation…)_

**

* * *

Vessel Makahara**

"No… No. I don't want to negotiate with you right now… now. The tactician of Optimus Prime recalled us… us. He wants to negotiate… negotiate. Besides, you don't offer enough advantages… advantages."

Nyxerys made her best efforts to not throw her energon cube against the screen where the face of the slag beetle mocked her. How dared this microbe blackmail her!

"I understand your position. I'll inform you about a new proposition as soon as possible. Please let me know the evolution of the transactions with the Autobots."

The Insecticon didn't even mind replying as he cut the communication link, leaving her at the paroxysm of irritation. She sipped angrily at her cube and then smirked as visions of a base 0025 devoured by flames flashed in front of her optics.

"Count on me to have those new transactions be a complete failure! You will bring me this damn sarcophagus and then… Boom! I'll destroy the base, with you inside!"

**To be continued**


	30. Ch 30: Insecticon Hunt Part 1

I apologize to all readers for the huge delay in updating this story. I had a very busy June at work.

I thank a lot Krystalmaze for editing the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 30 : Insecticon hunt (1)**

**Vessel Atlantis**

The command room was silent despite the number of mechs that were gathered between its four walls. Megatron, as the leader of the incoming commando mission, sat on the command chair, drumming nervously on his lap. He growled irritably when Blitzwing expressed his joy of extorting more energon cubes from Astrotrain by holding up a three king with an amused chuckle.

"Keep silent, Blitzwing. It's neither a kindergarten nor a gambling den here," Megatron huffed.

The triple changer bowed apologetically and went back to his game, whispering softly to his two game partners. The relative calm allowed Megatron to refocus on the planning of the mission, more specifically on the task allocation between his team members.

"How long before we arrive at base?" he inquired.

"Half a cycle, Sir," Cyclonus replied.

Megatron acknowledged the information with a grunt and then glared at Soundwave.

"Contact Rumble or Frenzy. I need to speak with Prowl."

"At your command!" Soundwave hurriedly radioed one of his Cassettes and beckoned Megatron when the comm. link was established. "Sir, you just need to speak, and I will transmit the message encoded." He informed.

"Perfect." The warlord nodded approvingly. "Prowl, I guess you have contacted the Insecticons and proposed a new round of negotiation, haven't you?"

Soundwave blipped as he processed and sent the message, small lights flickering in his cockpit. There were a few kliks of silence before another blipping echoed the first one.

"Affirmative. New meeting about to happen in two cycles. Prowl is waiting for the instructions."

"Perfect. Tell him to send us the full specs of the area where he intends to negotiate. We'll deal with the Insecticons."

New blipping followed Megatron's orders, Soundwave's cockpit flashing intensely.

"It's done, my lord. I have the full specs," the Communication officer informed.

"Excellent. Forward them to all of us," Megatron replied. He waited a few minutes before standing up from his chair. "My fellow Decepticons, you have all received the specs of the battlefield. Now, it's time to talk about strategy."

Megatron posed, waiting that all his men were gathered in front of him.

"What is the target?" Cyclonus asked.

"We must find out where the Insecticons keep the Salonian sarcophagus. I know the temptation to crush those disgusting little bugs is tempting, but we'll have to keep our presence undetectable as long as possible, and then follow them to their lair."

The warlord emphasized his point with a flaming gaze.

"Do we know if we'll have to deal with an Insecticon swarm?" Astrotrain asked.

"I don't have much information about this but-." Megatron posed and smirked. "We all know the treacherous nature of the Insecticons. I wouldn't be surprised if they built a swarm to help their little coup."

Blitzwing banged a fist on his hand. "Nice! The more Insecticons to pummel, the better!" he joyfully declared.

Megatron nodded, a predatory smile now gracing his lips.

"You'll have your fun… once we get our hands on this slagging sarcophagus," he assured. The team members – Octane, Astrotrain, Blitzwing, Dirge, Cyclonus and Scourge – welcomed his words with a cheer and started to check their weapons in preparation for the raid. Megatron opened his comm. link with Galvatron, who took his time to reply.

_(What's new about the raid? I'm getting impatient…)_

"We're ready. ETA in half a cycle. You stay on board of the Atlantis with Thanatron. I prefer not to involve him in this internal problem."

_(No way! I'm coming with you_!) Galvatron retorted, offended to be left behind.

"You stay there, I said! Thanatron is our best asset, and I want you to guard him," Megatron cut. He understood the position of his brother but wouldn't give in. "It's useless to protest, brother. My decision is taken."

_(Humph! You know where you can shove your orders?!)_

"I've got an idea of it…"

Galvatron stopped the comm. link with a grunt, which made Megatron smile. His brother had always liked action, and being deprived of battle transformed him into a spoiled sparkling.

**

* * *

Base 0025, Main Command Room**

Prowl didn't take his optics off the long and massive shape of the Atlantis cleaving through the seas, approaching silently the base 0025.

"I would have never thought I had to say this, but I hope your plan is going to work, Megatron," he breathed, watching the black ship maneuvering slowly to moor to the underwater pad. "We've really staked all!"

He sighed and switched off the surveillance camera. He had to go to the negotiation, not really sure he would survive to it.

**

* * *

Base 0025, the forbidden area, h****alf a cycle later…**

"What is the slagging Autobot doing… doing?" Shrapnel stamped his foot angrily. "He should be there now… now!"

"I think we're losing our time!" Kickback agreed. "We should have gone to the Salonian ship instead of staying in this rusty place." He added, scanning the vast hangar that had been chosen as theatre of operations.

"Wait! I saw something moving!" Bombshell exclaimed, pointing at the main door.

The three Insecticons darted at the small bot that entered the place slowly, covering his surroundings with a slightly frightened look. All at their observation, they didn't notice that other robots had joined the party.

"Send the clones…clones!" Shrapnel commanded, "As for us, we return to the launch pad."

O

Prowl felt a hit in the pit of his fuel tank when a chirping reached him. He rounded his shoulder, feeling definitely ill at ease in this dark place. He lowered his gaze, staring vacantly at the dark and sticky marks left on the rusted ground. Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime had been shot down there, a few cycles before, victims of an ambush. The tactician felt a chill through his circuits as he imagined himself lying on the same ground, bathing in his own energon.

"I don't even know if Megatron is out there with his men," he whispered to himself. How stupid he had been to accept the tyrant's plan!

"At last you came… came!"

Prowl startled and immediately ran a scan of the area, realizing that three Transformers were approaching silently to him.

"Shrapnel?" he called, "Is that you?"

As a matter of answer, he received a strong hit in the side of his helmet, violent enough to scramble his motor system and bear him to his knees.

"It's us, you mean?" The voice of Kickback rang in his audios while a hand grabbed firmly his neck and forced him to bow down. "Look what we have here! A frightened Autobot! Isn't it the so called tactician genius Prowl?" the bug gloated.

"Please, leave me time to explain our situation. I came here to negotiate," Prowl pleaded, trying to ignore the pain coming from his helmet.

"First, you have to pledge allegiance to the Insecticons. Recognize our superiority over the other Transformers, and we might negotiate." Bombshell cut in.

The pressure on Prowl's neck rose dramatically as another hand clamped at his neck, and forced his face down. The chevron on his forehead hit the pavement, and finally buckled, drawing a whimper of discomfort from the tactician.

"Repeat after me… me. The Insecticons are my masters… masters, and I am their slaves… slaves."

"No! Stop this game… I came here to negotiate, not to be humiliated!"

"Bow to us, you idiot. There will be no negotiation otherwise. Do you want to end up like Optimus Prime and his second in command?"

Prowl stopped resisting as the cold feeling of a barrel supplanted the pain on his neck. Like an animal at bay, ready to be slaughtered, the tactician accepted the humiliation.

"I… pledge allegiance to my masters the Insecticons," he started, resting completely his forehead to the ground, definitely ruining the chevron.

**

* * *

Base 0025, Main Command Room**

"How can he accept being humiliated in such a way? He should have never listened to Megatron!" Jazz groaned, smashing his fist into the command board. "Come on, Prowl! Shoot them down and get out of this trap, man!"

"Calm down, Jazz. I'm sure that Megatron has something in mind," Blaster cut in. "He accepted to follow the orders of the Slag maker; I guess it's for a reason."

"For a reason… Don't be stupid: Megatron fooled him. Who can follow this sadistic bastard except a blind and stupid Decepticon, or a disoriented Autobot?" Jazz rumbled.

The two Cassettes suddenly jumped in front of him, anger plastered in their face.

"What did you call the Decepticons?" Rumble shrieked, showing his pile drivers.

"Be respectful when you talk about Megatron, you stupid rust can!" Frenzy groaned as he mimicked his twin.

Feeling that the situation turned sour, Blaster hurried to the minibots and caught them in each hand before they could create an earthquake with their fearsome weapons.

"Chill in, people! It's not that way we're going to help Prowl or Megatron, and retrieve the sarcophagus!" he warned, bringing the two trashing cassettes back to their surveillance screen, sitting them on their mini-chairs.

"Hey, he started to insult the Decepticons first!" Frenzy complained.

"Yeah, go and sermonize the moron, not us!" Rumble spat, pointing at Jazz, who immediately raised a fist.

"What did you call me, pipsqueak?"

"I'm not a pipsqueak!" Rumble jumped out of his seat and walked resolutely to the Autobot. "Start saying your prayers because you've crossed the red line!" he threatened. He was stopped in his tracks when Blurr started to beep frantically while typing on his keyboard, his optics literally glued to the screen. "What's happening to you, cyber peacock?" the purple Cassetticon snorted.

"That'.I'.......Decepticons."

"…?"

".........area." the fast talker breathed.

"Hey! Hey! Blurr, slow down!" Jazz interrupted him, and motioned to the blue triple changer to have a look to his screen. He immediately frowned behind his visor when he discovered the images of a large hole widely open on the sea, obviously created by an explosion. "Oh, Primus!"

"What's going on?" Blaster asked, joining them to the observation screen.

"I think the base had been infiltrated…"

**

* * *

Base 0025, the forbidden area**

Megatron's optics hadn't left the negotiation scene since the arrival of Prowl in the deserted hangar. Usually, watching the molestation of an Autobot didn't bother him at all, but in the present case, it annoyed him. The goal of this fake meeting was to have the Insecticons' clones bringing Prowl to the lair of the real trio of bug formers and their swarm. However, he feared that the tactician would soon crack under the humiliations and the pressure, unveiling his presence and by the same, ruining his plan.

"Soundwave, you confirm they are only clones, don't you?" he asked to his Communication officer.

"Identity confirmed: Insecticon clones."

"Then broadcast a message to the action team, saying that we have to be ready to intervene in case the Insecticons go a little too rough on the Autobot. The goal is to capture one of them as quickly as possible, or follow them in case of failure. We must discover the coordinates of their lair."

"At your command, Megatron."

"Do it at the highest security level. I don't want those slagging bugs detecting our presence."

The Communication Officer complied silently, a small flashing light in his cockpit showing he relayed the message to the other Decepticons.

"It's done, my lord. They're waiting for your signal."

"Excellent."

With that last word, Megatron focused his attention back to the hangar, where Prowl was unceremoniously raised to his feet.

O

Octane shifted his position so that he could easily spring at the Insecticons in case they tried to escape in his direction. For the moment, the three bugs were busy playing a nasty little game with Prowl, humiliating him with sadistic amusement.

"Keep cool, my friends, we're with you," he murmured to encourage the tactician. He felt some sympathy towards the Autobot after the 20 years spent in the base. Unlike his comrades, who had kept certain nostalgia for the Decepticon army, Octane had tried to befriend most of the Autobots, and had quite succeeded. He was following Megatron in his race for power for unique motives that his best friends, Blitzwing and Astrotrain, believed in the cause.

He stiffened a little when he heard a light buzzing coming from a part storeroom to his right. He frowned, remembering that Astrotrain was hiding some hundred meters away, on his left, behind a machine of the assembly line.

"An Insecticon?" he wondered. Possibly, the bugs were observing him, which meant that this operation could be a complete fiasco.

He carefully stepped aside and moved silently to the entrance of the storeroom, raising his blaster to guard against any attacks. He poked his head round the door but saw nothing else than the wrecks of shelves and broken crates. He was to withdraw when the same buzzing reached his audio components again: there was definitely something or someone hiding in there. Not leaving his defensive stance, he entered the storeroom, minding the configuration of it. There was a sharp bend at the back of the storeroom; if there was an intruder, he was certainly hidden in the corner. Prudently, he walked on his tiptoes, back to the wall, his attention focused on the shadows. A new buzzing and a clicking confirmed to him that he wasn't alone. Octane bit his lower-lip as he resigned himself to a more violent action.

"Put your weapons down!"

He leaped forward, his blaster aimed blindly at the invisible enemy. His optics flashed in surprise as he saw the black robot turning around and targeting him with his powerful weapon. He had expected to see an Insecticon, not a Salonian Stalker. He put aside his surprise and leaped at the robot, his body smashing into the dark frame with a loud tug. They rolled to the ground, their blasters both escaping them. Octane took advantage of the Salonian's surprise to punch him in the face and the chest. In three strong punches, he smashed completely the cockpit, and stopped his pummeling only when he felt the acid blood of the pilot eating the paint of his hand.

"I have to warn the other," he said, wiping away the acid from his palm.

His energon ran cold when he felt the coldness of a barrel pressing in his back, right on the spot where the two wings were attached to his body.

"No!"

The roar of the cannon covered his cry. The shot tore through him, shattering a part of his chest as darkness engulfed the triple changer.

O

Astrotrain startled when the cry of Octane and the gunshot reached his audios. That was coming from the stock close to where the younger mech was hidden. The shuttle scanned the area in search of Octane's energy field but detected only a weak readout.

"Something has happened to Octane," Astrotrain murmured, having a feeling of impeding death.

Despite the orders of remaining hidden that Megatron shrieked through the comm. link, he sprang from his hideout and ran to the storehouse. It took him less than a minute to reach his fallen comrade.

"Octane! What's going on?"

His spark tingled when he discovered the younger triple changer, who lay face down in a pool of energon. His back was partly destroyed, a black hole replacing the point of attachment of the wings, which hung lamely by his side. Astrotrain felt an incredible anger seizing him, calling for the murder of the one responsible for such a slaughter. Before the Stalker could aim at him, the triple changer fired at his weapon, which exploded in the hands of the black robot. An arm missing and the other half-destroyed, the Stalker stepped back in search of an exit way.

"I'll teach you what it takes to shoot a triple changer in the back!" Astrotrain roared, shifting to his locomotive alt-form.

His powerful machinery set at maximum strength, the locomotive charged full speed at the Stalker. He slammed into the smaller mech, flattening him against the wall, which finally collapsed onto him. However, Astrotrain was too up in arms to let himself dazzled by the shock or trapped into this position. He shifted back to robot-mode and extracted himself from the wreck. Thanks to his sturdy constitution, the damages were only minor, and his motor system running 100%.

"Octane!" The vision of the bleeding mech revived his worries. He hurried to the younger robot's side and delicately turned him over. A weak hope burnt in his chest when he noticed the dim glow in Octane's optics. "I'm here, young idiot. Stay awake!" he urged, running a quick scan of the damages.

"Ugh… Hurt…" Octane said and coughed up some energon.

"Don't talk, Octane. Focus on keeping awake, I'm taking care of you!" Astrotrain assured, pressing on the broken main fuel line, which leaked energon. He grimaced when he saw that Octane's spark casing was hanging by his side, cracked. "Keep awake, keep awake!"

Octane's situation was serious, bordering with despair. Astrotrain was well aware he wouldn't be able to save him if he stayed here. Besides, he could hear buzzing of engines coming closer to them. He checked the energy field frequencies; they weren't registered in his data bank. Other Stalkers were approaching.

"Megatron, acknowledge. Please, it's urgent!" he shrieked through the comm. link.

Statics crackled during a good minute before the Decepticon leader answered.

_(You fool! I ordered to minimize the communications! You want to sabotage this mission?)_ Megatron protested.

"Listen to me! We fell into a trap. There are Stalkers all around us!" he explained frantically. He tensed up when a shape cast its shadow on the wall in front of him. He raised his blaster, while firming his grip on the wounded triple changer. "Octane is badly wounded. He killed one Stalker and I iced another one. Others are coming. You have to find a way to let us escape, or we're both dead."

Astrotrain's optics flashed angrily as a Stalker appeared in the corner. He shot, shrieking insults and curses to the alien invader.

O

Megatron's optics narrowed to a slit when the gunshot echoed through the .

"Astrotrain, what's going on?" he asked with some worry. Slag! He hadn't expected such a problem to show up. And he had less expected his own reaction; while he had always considered his men as canon fodder, he was now caring for them!

_(I shot at a Stalker, but I missed him. He's going to attack us again. What are you going to do?)_

Megatron glared at Soundwave and then at the four bots that were now motionless on the main operation theatre. The Insecticons and Prowl weren't moving anymore, making frantic sweeps of the place in search of the origin of the gunshots. Finally, Shrapnel took air, shooting at his comrades: "Take the tactician! It's a trap. We have to escape!". The two others Insecticons grabbed the unfortunate Autobot, who wriggled helplessly until Kickback knocked him out with a powerful kick in the face.

Now, it was time to shift to a plan B, although the plan B wasn't prepared. The Decepticon leader opened swiftly a second communication channel. "Blitzwing. Dirge. Be ready, they're flying in your direction. Try to stop them!" Megatron ordered, mapping the flight plan of the Insecticon clones.

_(At your command!)_

Blitzwing's answer was immediately followed by intense laser shots that lit up the decrepit hangar like a firework. The exchange of shots died as suddenly as it has started.

"Did you catch them?"

Statics crackled until Blitzwing answered him.

_(Negative. They managed to go through. We had to dodge heavy shots from Stalkers. Slag it! What are they doing here?)_ The voice of Blitzwing hardly covered the whistling of wind. The triple changer was certainly flying at fool speed. _(Anyway, Dirge and I are chasing the slagging bugs. The Stalkers are certainly after us…)_

"Keep up with the chasing. We're following you!" Megatron assured, "Cyclonus, Scourge. You heard him. Go after them for support!"

_(At your command Megatron!)_ Cyclonus replied.

Another gunshot reminded him that Astrotrain and Octane were still in a critical situation.

"Astrotrain? Are you still here?"

_(Yeah. I shot another of those sons of a glitch. Octane is weakening. I have to bring him to the repair bay, or he's going to die! I need your backup!)_

Megatron gritted his dental platting. He stared at Soundwave, cursing himself for being so in need of the treacherous Communication Officer's insights.

"Soundwave! Your assessment of the situation?"

"Hypothesis: the Stalkers are here to sabotage the negotiations. Enemy's expectations: feeling betrayed by their own kind, the Insecticons would hand over the sarcophagus to Nyxerys. Threat: we'll have to deal with an unknown number of Stalkers if we want to stop the Insecticons."

The Decepticon leader groaned in acknowledgement and mentally recognized one thing about Soundwave: he was a fine tactician, gifted with an incredible intelligence. It didn't erase his betrayal, though.

"Astrotrain. We'll chase after the Insecticons. It's possible that all the Stalkers follow right after us. Take your chance to escape!"

_(And if you're wrong? What if some Stalkers stay and try to finish us?)_

Astrotrain had a point. Megatron looked again at Soundwave, but the navy blue Transformer anticipated his question.

"Request for reinforcement and medical care sent to Jazz. Help is on the way. Advice to Astrotrain: get out of the hangar."

"You heard him? Do as he says," Megatron shot through clenched teeth.

_(Primus, save us!)_

Astrotrain cut the comm. link on this weary comment, leaving a bitter taste in Megatron's mouth. However, the situation left no room to uncertainty or doubts. They had to catch up with the rest of the team, eliminate the Stalkers and retrieve the sarcophagus. If they succeeded, the Decepticons would be the rulers of the base. In case of failure, however… they would be all dead.

"Soundwave, you have the coordinates of the team?" he asked grumpily.

"Affirmative. Ready to take off," the Communication Officer replied. He suddenly reduced the distance between him and his master, and bowed his head. "I'm honored that you chose to team up with me," he added softly.

Megatron couldn't help but shot him an angry stare.

"I chose you because you are competent. It doesn't change anything about your betrayal," he icily replied. "Now, time for action."

O

The corridors being too narrow to allow them to fly, Dirge and Blitzwing had to stalk the Insecticons by foot. The three bugs and their hostage had a good minute-lead over them, and had been careful to blast the walls to slow down their pursuers.

"Slagging miserable bugs!" Blitzwing growled, kicking away a block of metal. "They're leaving us behind!"

Dirge noticed a crack in the wall, large enough to allow mech the size of the Insecticons to go through. Looking twice, he remarked remnants of a dark paint job, very similar to the color of the metal insects.

"Blitzwing, look! I think they escaped this way," he informed his comrade. "There are traces of paint job, and I can track Prowl's energy field."

"Hum?" The triple changer poked his head round the crack, lightening up the inside with his optics. The reddish light unveiled a new series of assembly lines, the ones used to fill the Stalker with weaponry. "I guess they had," he agreed and then punch strongly the wall to enlarge the opening. Already brittle, the structure shattered in tiny crumbs after two more punches. "That's better," he said once the way was clean.

"Do you see something?"

"Nope. Let's get inside."

The two Decepticons walked in prudently, practically back to back, sweeping the area with their radars and the aim of their weapons.

"It looks abandoned. They must be far away now," Blitzwing commented.

"I guess they didn't have to wait for us. I saw on the map that the only exit to this assembly line is a launch pad. Could be a nice place to hide an Insecticon swarm, don't you think?"

"Let's check this out. I'll radio the others to let them know our position," Blitzwing agreed.

While the triple changer informed the other Decepticons of their coordinates and intentions, Dirge remarked on the feeble light coming from one of the handling gates next to them. He beckoned Blitzwing to have a look, and motioned closer to the gate. He stopped at the bottom of a pier, and looked up, trying to see the origin of the light.

"Dirge, stand back!" he heard Blitzwing screaming as a black shape leaped at him and tackled him to the ground.

His immediate reaction was to snatch away the weapon that his aggressor pressed against his chest. He trashed violently to move away the black robot, but was rewarded by a punch in the faceplate that scrambled his circuits. Knocked out, he ceased to struggle and let darkness overcoming him.

O

"Blitzwing and Dirge have lost their trail," Cyclonus informed Scourge. "They're inspecting the assembly line nearby the launch pad. It looks like they detected traces of Prowl's energy field in there."

"Why don't we try to reach this launch pad by a roundabout way? I saw there is another hallway to get there on the schematics of the area," Scourge suggested, gesturing at the fallen blocks of metal obstructing the passage.

"Good idea. By chance, we'll find the swarm in there," Cyclonus agreed, clenching his fists. "That should allow us enough time to study their defensive scheme and locate the sarcophagus. I'm looking forward to squeezing the neck of these treacherous bugs!"

"So am I!" Scourge pointed at an airlock few meters away. "This is the passage to the hallway."

The two Transformers proceeded to the airlock, oblivious that three black robots were intensely observing them from a corner.

O

Megatron was seething with anger. The perfect plan he had concocted was turning to a complete fiasco. How could have he guessed that the Stalkers would manage to infiltrate the base and messed up everything?

"My lord, we can't fly anymore. The hallway is destroyed," Soundwave advised him.

The warlord acknowledged his words with a growl and landed on the broken up metal surface, covering with a murderous glare the wrecks.

"Slag those Insecticons! They managed to cover their tracks and leave us behind," Megatron howled as he kicked a rock, infuriated. He then turned to his Communication Officer. "Scan the schematics of the base and find a way to reach this slagging launch pad."

"At your command, my lord," Soundwave replied before his visor started to flash as he went over the files. "We might bump into the swarm on this pad."

"The swarm is not a problem: they are only clones," Megatron retorted, gritting his teeth. "The real problems are this treacherous trio of vermin and the Stalkers," he added, punching the wall by his side. "We have to shoot them down for once and for all!"

"Yes, my lord." The Communication Officer calmly replied, focusing on the analysis of the schematics.

Megatron stared at him, fist clenched and jaw tightened, while he mentally tried to build alternative plans to tip the scales in his favor. He was so close to raising his Decepticons to the leading position, he couldn't give up so easily. _'No, Darkracer. You've already spoiled my life enough. Time for me to take my revenge!'_ he swore to himself.

"My lord, behind you!" he suddenly heard Soundwave shouting.

By reflex, Megatron spun around to face the enemy and grabbed the blade that the Stalkers aimed at him. He was only a little too late, and couldn't avoid the blade to cut through his shoulder plating and his wing. He ignored the pain caused by the melting of the circuits and set one of his cannons on the canopy of the Stalker.

"Some good advice: if you attack me, you'd better be sure to kill me," he groaned as he fired.

The Stalker's chest exploded in a rain of metal shards, a tick smoke enveloping the form of Megatron, whose legs finally gave way under him.

"My lord!" Soundwave caught hold of him just in time, and helped him to lie on the ground. "Don't move. It's going to worsen the wound," he advised.

"Get this thing out of my shoulder… Argh!" Megatron gave out a pained whimper. "It's… melting my circuits!"

Soundwave grabbed the tilt of the blade and pulled it out of the plating, causing Megatron to arch under the pain. The warlord clenched his jaw, as if he wanted to break his mandetta, but couldn't bite back his groans of pain. Finally, the Communication Officer managed to remove the whole length of the blade from the bleeding wound.

"My lord. We should leave this place. Your shoulder is out of use; several lines are severed and some of your circuit boards have melted," Soundwave whispered to the heavily breathing mech.

Megatron's hand shot around Soundwave's wrist, squeezing hard.

"You patch the severed lines as well as you can, Soundwave, and we resume the Insecticon hunt after," he snapped.

"My lord, you're going to be an easy target for the Stalker."

Soundwave whimpered as the pressure on his wrist became excruciating. Megatron looked madly at him, ready to shoot him down.

"I'm a target for no one! Now, do as I say!"

"At your command," Soundwave replied, nodding in acceptance.

The wounded warlord released the communication officer's limb, allowing him to perform the repairs.

**

* * *

Vessel Atlantis**

"Megatron!"

Starscream woke up in a start, chest heaving strongly as his vents worked erratically. His confused look fell on his wing mates, who were staring at him in shock.

"Hey, Screamer. Do you make it a regular habit of screaming like this when waking up?" Skywarp covered his audios with his hands, massaging them with a grimace. "Primus, you almost blew up my audio receptors."

"Where's Megatron?"

"Base 25, Forbidden Area," Skywarp grumpily informed. "He's hunting down the Insecticons."

"He said that you could join the hunt if you feel better when waking up," Thundercracker completed with a warm smile. "He asked us to watch over you and let you join only if you are fit for battle."

"I'm fit!" the Seeker assured, waving away the thermal blanket. "Megatron is in danger, I have to go," he added, jumping out of the berth. He staggered on his feet and had to grip the edge of the berth for support.

"Hum, not so fast! You don't seem that fit for me," Skywarp retorted, crossing his arms on his chest.

"I'm good!"

"I have to say I agree with Skywarp. You should take a longer rest and let Megatron deal with the Insecticons," Thundercracker objected, walking to the younger Seeker.

He stopped on his track when Starscream raised his null-ray equipped arm, targeting at him.

"I'm fine. Megatron is in danger; I have to be by his side!" the jet said angrily. "And you're going with me!"

"Why do you think Megatron is in danger?" Skywarp asked and then threw up his arms in indignation. "Ah! On further consideration, I prefer when you're depressed and crying!"

Starscream lowered slowly his weapon and threw him a vibrant look.

"I can feel his pain," he murmured, reaching his chest with a hand, "in my spark."

**To be continued**


	31. Ch 31: Insecticon Hunt Part 2

Summer break is over, and I am back with a new chapter! I hope you like it. Many thanks to Krystalmaze for the editing.

* * *

**Chapter 31: Insecticon hunt (2)**

**Base 0025, outside the Atlantis**

Skywarp reluctantly followed Starscream, who petulantly ordered him to run quicker. He peeped at Thundercracker, who followed him a few steps behind: his face was already distorted with pain, as his freshly repaired wounds were certainly hurting like hell. He soundly disliked this change of mood from Starscream: not that he was unhappy to see him all kicking, but he didn't like seeing him so agitated.

At the bend in the path, Skywarp had the surprise of seeing Arcee walking from the opposite direction. The femme Autobot moved out of the way to allow Starscream and Thundercracker to run pass her and frowned as Skywarp stopped in front of her.

"Can you tell me what's going on here?" she reluctantly asked him. "Where are all the Decepticons? Why are all the communications with the base impossible?" she inquired.

Skywarp scratched nervously his forehead.

"Well… That's a very long explanation. I'll catch up with you later!" he finally replied, resuming his run to pursue his two wing mates.

O

Arcee watched the purple Seeker disappear at a corner of the hallway. It had been two good cycles since she had tried to join the Command Room, but the comm.-link was mute, throwing back only statics. All the Decepticons seemed to have deserted the ship, and neither Springer nor Skyfire knew what was going on. She had bet that Skywarp, as the good womanizer he was, wouldn't have resisted jumping on the opportunity of talking with her, but… no, he had merely stopped to apologize and continue his way.

"I don't like that. It smells like the Decepticons are plotting something," she murmured to herself.

O

Skywarp sighed as he realized he had just ruined a chance to chat with Arcee. When he thought the gorgeous femme had deliberately spoken to him. _'Slag it! Not the time to think about playing around! I have to stop Starscream before he gets in a real mess!'_ he thought.

The purple jet bit his lips, a little reluctant with the idea that had just emerged in his CPU, and finally ceded, opening his comm.-link.

O

_(Skyfire, acknowledge. This is Skywarp!)_

The shuttle former tensed at the Seeker's voice, so unusual to his audios. That was the very first time that Skywarp was directly calling him, which added to the mystery of the desertion of the Atlantis by the Decepticons. Three cycles before, Megatron had sent him packing to the engine room of the ship, with the order to check supposed damages on the hydraulic system. Unsurprisingly, Skyfire had found nothing abnormal in the machinery, and once back to the command room, had found it deserted. He had radioed Springer, who was equally at loss with explanations. Communications with the base 0025 were still possible but nobody replied to his injunctions, leaving Skyfire thinking that an important military operation was on-going.

"What's going on Skywarp? Where are all the Decepticons?" he inquired feverishly.

_(Gone to mission. They're kicking the Insecticon's afts in the forbidden area of the base. Nothing to be alarmed, uh?)_

"Are you kidding?" Skyfire grunted. Obviously, he would never put with the nonchalance of the jet. "Why wasn't I informed before?"

_(Hum… You remember? You're not a Decepticon, and Megatron dislikes you…)_

The shuttle former frowned, finding the Jet increasingly annoying.

"What did you call me for? To tell me that?" he asked with irritation. "Where is Thundercracker? With the other Decepticons?" he added more worryingly.

_(He's with me and Starscream. I'm afraid that our dear little Air Commander's CPU is scrambled. He's persuaded that Megatron is wounded, and he's decided to fly to his rescue, although he's not fit for battle. Thundercracker is willing to help, but he's not feeling better. I need your help to stop them!)_

Skyfire's mouth plates formed an 'o' shape in surprise; he hadn't expected such a request from this Seeker, who was the trine mate's of both his former lover and his future lover.

"Where are you?"

_(On the upper launch pad of the Atlantis. We're to exit to the submarine ramp of the base, and then head to the nearest launch pad. Follow me as soon as you can. I need you!)_

"Skywarp?"

Statics echoed, increasing his nervousness. He made a sweep of the deserted command room, which was silence filled with the whirr of the computers.

"Time for action." He murmured, and then sighed. "I hope Thundercracker won't hate me for interfering…"

He left the command room, not before sending a complete report of the situation to Springer.

* * *

**Base 0025, the forbidden area**

Soundwave helped Megatron to stand on his feet, feeling that the warlord was reluctant to accept his help. However, Megatron had no choice; he had lost a significant amount of energon, enough to weaken him.

"I can stand by myself." He grunted, pushing aside Soundwave and lowered his head to look at the repairs. He touched the deep gashes that remained despite the careful work of the Communication Officer. He then glared back at his once most trusted lieutenant and smirked. "You made an acceptable repair job. Now, we have no time to lose; we must catch up with the rest of the team," he declared, flashing his optics angrily.

The navy blue Transformer had to admit that Megatron was pretending very well he didn't feel the pain or suffered from energy depletion. But he wasn't fooled by the warlord's behavior; he stepped forward, ready to catch Megatron when he turned around too quickly. His knees buckled and he had to grab the wall to keep his balance.

"I'm fine. I don't need your support!" Megatron warned, looking over his shoulder. "I'm not the kind of mech who becomes abandoned because he's been wounded in a little skirmish," he added proudly before resuming his staggering walk.

Soundwave sighed discreetly, tightening his grip on his blaster. It was clear Megatron was no more fit for battle, and that he had to protect him despite his own will.

O

Back in the initial theatre of action, Astrotrain slammed his locomotive frame into the last Stalker still standing, embedding him deeply in the wall. He came back to his robot mode and observed with satisfaction the three war trophies that now decorated the hangar. He had never thought that this technique would be so efficient against the alien robots. His good mood didn't last long as the desperate condition of his brother in arm came back to his mind.

"Octane, hold on. I'm going to get you out of this mess!" he assured to the moribund triple changer, kneeling by his side.

Octane's optics flashed weakly and a light moan escaped his mouth, proof that he was still hanging onto his life. Reassured, Astrotrain resumed the patchwork he had started before the three Stalkers had attacked him. A few kliks passed before he came to a standstill, alarmed by hisses coming from the depth of the hangar. He wasn't done with all the Stalkers.

"No choice this time." He muttered, trying to work faster on Octane's crippled chest. Meanwhile, he located Rumble's comm.-link frequency. "Hello, pipsqueak. I need your help."

_(Call me another way or go and slag yourself!) _came the angry reply.

"Listen, pipsqueak, I don't have time to argue with you. I'm stuck in the hangar where we were supposed to trap the Insecticons. Everything went horribly wrong and the team split in several groups. I'm with Octane. He's badly hurt and in danger of termination." He explained as calmly as possible.

_(What do you want me to do?)_

"Ask the Autobots to send reinforcement."

_(But Megatron asked to-)_

"Yeah, Megatron asked the Autobots to stay aside from the operations, to limit communications in order to avoid raising the suspicion of the Insecticons. However, he hadn't expected the Stalkers to ambush us. Anyway, it's too late for discretion. Call for reinforcement."

_(Megatron will be furious if I do that.)_

"I'm ready to take the responsibility. Call for reinforcement!" Astrotrain growled.

Rumble went silent during a good minute before his comm.-link came to life again.

_(It's done! We're sending you Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and the Dinobots. Good luck, moron!)_

Astrotrain outlined a smirk. "Yeah, thank you, pipsqueak."

A new threatening hiss reached his audios, urging him to finish the major repair as quick as possible. He welded a couple of leaking pipes and decided it was time to clear out of this trap.

"We're almost out of danger!" he said to Octane. Astrotrain then proceeded to get the wounded mech on his feet and carry him. Octane's body landed flop on his right shoulder, which earn him a moan of pain. "Sorry buddy, I don't have the choice. I need to keep my blaster in my hand." He sort of apologized.

Wise decision from him as a laser shot hit the wall next to him. Astrotrain quickly aimed at the direction where the shot was coming and fired blindly. He smiled cruelly when he heard the noise of a body collapsing to the ground.

"Yeah, take that. It's only the beginning!" he shouted as a warning.

* * *

**Base 0025, Main Command Room**

Jazz, Blaster, Blurr and the two Cassettes couldn't tear their optics off the tall figure of Shockwave.

"Are you sure it was wise to exceed Megatron's order? Optimus Prime had given him a carte blanche for this operation," Jazz asked. He was inwardly relieved by Shockwave's orders, but was well aware of the chain of command.

The cyclopean Transformer nodded his head.

"There are two points we have to be careful with if we want to preserve peace in this base. As much as it's important to avoid the slaughter of Megatron's followers, it is not good to let them do the entire job. The Autobots must participate and team up with them if they want to keep a prominent place in the future. " He spoke sternly.

Jazz shivered lightly, unable to ascertain if Shockwave's words was an encouragement of a warning.

* * *

**Vessel Atlantis, Detention Chamber**

_(Thanks Skyfire. Keep me posted on the situation.)_

Springer cut the comm.-link with Skyfire and ran his optics back and forth, scanning the apparent stillness of Galvatron and Thanatron. The desertion of all the Decepticons from the Atlantis and the recent communication blackout with the base added mystery to the already intricate situation. It was more than obvious for him that the two bots were discussing through their private comm.-links, sharing whatever secret. Another point aroused his curiosity: the striking resemblance shared by Thenatron and the two Decepticon brothers. Springer suspected the three shared a family link, the most plausible hypothesis being that Thanatron was the son of Galvatron or Megatron. But which one was the father?

The Salonian general shifted his position on his chair, looking suddenly uncomfortable. Checking on Galvatron, Springer saw that the warlord looked at the prisoner with a tragic look in the optics.

"Stop this!" He couldn't help saying, annoyed by their fake silence. "Why don't you speak out loud instead of conversing through your comm.-links?"

The two robots looked at him in surprise. Galvatron quickly recomposed himself and smirked mischievously.

"Impressive. You're not as stupid as I thought…"

Springer clenched his fist under this new insult.

"I'm more clever than your limited CPU can ever imagine," he retorted and mirrored Galvatron's smirk. "So… Who's his father?" he asked, gesturing to Thanatron. "Megatron or you?"

Far from throwing Galvatron off balance, his remark provoked his general hilarity.

"Ah! I could smell you were brilliant enough to discover our little secret. You would be an excellent Decepticon spy, you know…" Galvatron gloated.

Springer glared at him, taking the remark as the worst insult ever.

"I would certainly never become a Decepticon. Anyway, you haven't answered my question, and not reported this information to Prowl or Optimus Prime," Springer said harshly. "Don't tell me you just forgot; I wouldn't believe you."

Galvatron rose slowly from his seat, casting his threatening shadow over Springer. Thanatron watched him with a kind of awe, not saying a word.

"Listen to me, you idiot. I didn't report it because Megatron and I have our own agenda. You don't need to know more about it!" Galvatron growled, smashing his fist over the surface of the table.

This was the signal that the warlord was getting pissed. Foreseeing more damageable actions from Galvatron, Springer jumped backwards, aiming his riffle at the warlord.

"Back off! Drop you cannon!" he barked.

Galvatron's optics burned of a volcano red as he raised his deadly weapon.

"Don't give good reasons to dispose of your sorry person, Springer!" he threatened.

The Decepticon and the Autobot stood still, blue optics battling silently with red mirrors filled with hatred. Thanatron was silent as well, not living his optics off Galvatron.

_(Warning! Any Transformers available are ordered to gather in the forbidden area to stop Stalkers invasion. I repeat, gather in the forbidden area, coordinates…)_

The message echoed in Galvatron's and Springer's comm.-link, preventing them to engage further into their dual.

"We have to deliver him to Optimus Prime," Springer informed, lowering his weapon. "And then go to the Forbidden Area. This is a red code alert."

Galvatron's lips twitched and then formed his so typical annoying smirk.

"No, I've got a better idea," he groaned and then changed his target. He aimed his weapon at the prisoner, causing Thanatron to yelp in surprise and recoil in fear. The laser hit the energon shackles in the middle, cutting it sharp.

"Are you crazy?" Springer exclaimed, horrified.

His horror increased when Galvatron slammed into the table, sending it flying across the room. The last thing he saw was the golden cannon, which hit him the helmet with so much strength that he believed his head would pop off. He collapsed to a heap, darkness engulfing him as his whole system crashed.

* * *

**Outside the base 0025, on the way to the Forbidden Area**

"Starscream, I still think you should wait for further information before interfering with Megatron's plan. He will be furious when he sees you're out in such a weak state!" Skywarp shrieked to his air commander, his voice covered by the whistle of the wind on his frame. He peeped at his second wing mate, and noticed that Thundercracker was already flying far bellow him. "Screamer! By Primus, Thundercracker and you are not fit for battle!"

The red and silver Seeker swung round, glaring angrily at the warping Jet.

"I am perfectly fit for battle. I've told you: I have to rescue Megatron," he spat and then stared at the blue Jet which was flying to them at low speed. "If TC is not in the shape to follow us, fine, he can go back to the Atlantis. But I need you, Warp'!"

Skywarp shook his head in despair and then mumbled at low voice when Starscream resumed his flight, flying close to the walls of the base in search of a crevice to dive into.

"Let's come back to the base," he snapped at Thundercracker when the exhausted jet came to hover at his level.

"No, we can't let him by himself. It's too dangerous!" the blue jet replied, clutching with a painful expression his mid-section.

Looking twice at the blue armour, Skywarp made out some energon droplets flowing down from a crack in the left side of the yellow cockpit.

"TC, return to base! Your wound is reopening!" Skywarp cried in panic, seizing his wing mate by the shoulders.

Despite his evident pain, Thundercracker shoved him away, not willing to obey.

"We can't let Screamer all by himself! He will make a target of himself!" the blue Seeker breathed, clutching nervously his bleeding wound.

"TC…"

Skywarp watched him flying away, his pain so obvious that it made the purple jet almost sick. However, he knew he couldn't stop his stubborn wing mates alone. "Skyfire, I hope you won't be long!" he whispered in the comm.-link, scanning the sky in search of the shuttle.

_(Don't worry, I'm right behind you. Try to slow them down.)_ Came the reply.

O

They flew during ten more minutes, Starscream still ahead, flying up and down along the black walls in search of an entrance. Skywarp wondered if the nervous flier really knew where he was going, and why he was flying in this direction. He only suspected that Starscream and Megatron had bonded during the previous night, according to their behaviour at the troop review and the enigmatic words of Starscream: _'I can feel Megatron in my spark.'_ Skywarp had never been bonded with another Transformer, and was unaware of many things about its effects. He had read on old archives that bonded Transformers were able of telepathy between each others, and shared a common destiny, sometimes implying death if one of them died.

_(Skywarp, I'm right behind you,)_ Skyfire informed him. _(I can deal with Thundercracker, but Starscream is too far away. Can you warp and try to stop him until I catch up with you?)_

Skywarp couldn't help but tensing up at the request. _'Screamer will be mad at me and try to shoot me down,'_ he reflected. However, he had not many other solutions but to try this dangerous move.

"Okay, don't be too long," he replied, initialling his warping program.

O

Thundercracker breathed out hard to expel the energon that ran into his chest vent. The wound close to his spark box had reopened a few minutes after he had started to fly away from the Atlantis, and his internals were wet with energon. Some error messages were already disturbing the normal functioning of his CPU. Deep inside him, he wanted to return to the base, get some repairs and get rid off this searing pain in his chest. But he couldn't let Starscream flying on the road to ruin. Megatron would kill Skywarp and himself if Starscream was injured in the process.

_'I should have been stronger and tried to reason with Screamer. I shouldn't have been so weak while he's not in a state of processing correctly,'_ he rebuked himself, whimpering in pain as a circuit board short-circuited close to his right chest vent.

Distracted by the alerts sent by his damaged body, he didn't mind the white shuttle former that flew silently to him and wrapped his large arms around his body.

"No, let me go!" Thundercracker shrieked in panic, suddenly dreading a deadly eccounter with a Stalker.

"It's me, Thundercracker, don't be afraid." Skyfire's voice reached him together with the gentle brush of lip components on his audios. "I came to bring you back to base," he added, turning gently the Seeker over so that he could see his face.

Thundercracker casted him a look filled with despair.

"Let me go, please. I have to catch up with Starscream and Skywarp!" he moaned.

"It's Skywarp who asked me to go and help him to reason with both of you, and if necessary, bring you back by force to the base," the shuttle explained, setting delicately a thumb on the bleeding plating. "Your wound reopened and you won't be able to fly a long time. You need to go to the repair bay."

Thundercracker whimpered as the touch on his wound was unexpectedly pleasant, almost soothing. This strong arm snaked around his back and waist was equally reassuring. He lowered his gaze, feeling confusion overcoming him, making his spark pulse faster and stronger.

"Let me go." He murmured almost inaudibly.

A weak gasp escaped him when Skyfire took delicately his chin, forcing him to peer at his blue optics.

"Why do you want so much to catch up with Starscream?" he asked.

Thundercracker felt a tremor shake his engine as Skyfire lowered his face, stopping merely an inch to his now burning faceplate.

"He's overreacting, he's delirious and he doesn't know what he's doing," he managed to stutter. "If he gets injured during battle, Megatron is going to kill us."

"You can't stop Starscream from being with Megatron, even at the cost of his life." Skyfire sternly replied.

"I know, but Megatron asked us to be his care-takers. We would fail him if we let Starscream go while he's weak in energy."

"He doesn't seem so weak in energy for me," the shuttle replied, pointing at a turret crowning the dark surface of the base.

The Seeker recognized immediately his two wing mates; Skywarp was desperately trying to grab a trashing Starscream round the waist, but ended up with a slap in the face while the furious jet pushed a so indignant "Argggh! You moron!" that it reached their audios.

"He's fine, actually," Skyfire added and chuckled lightly. "All kicking and insulting!"

"But, I have…"

"To watch over him? Fine then, I'll go with you and your wing mates. I can't let you fight, while you are bleeding and weakened, at the mercy of the Insecticons."

O

Skyfire peered once again at the crimson optics of the Seeker he held prisoner in his arms. For once in his life, he felt that his pathological timidity and uncertainty had completely faded away. Thundercracker seemed to be subdued to his presence, not willing to reject him like before. Now was the time for showing him his feelings.

"Why are you doing that?" Thundercracker's voice was trembling.

"I do it for you," he simply replied, while his lip components came to brush gently the Seeker's lips. "Only for you."

* * *

**Base 0025, the forbidden area**

Dirge rebooted with a splitting headache assaulting his CPU. A quick scan of his memory bank and motor system's logs told him he had received a strong shock in the head. He turned to his flank, feeling the rusted ground grazing at the metal of his palm and tried to get a hold to a drainpipe protruding from the wall. He shivered when somebody grabbed his free arms and hauled him to his feet. Dreading the intervention of a Stalker, he turned around and held up his right arm, placing the barrel of his riffle on the unknown mech's plating.

"Hey, calm down, Conehead! It's me!"

Dirge gave a start as he recognized Blietzwing's voice and lowered his weapon. His vision remained blurry a few more kliks until the triple changer's smirking face appeared neatly.

"What happened?" the Conehead asked.

"You don't remember? You went too far ahead in this hangar and a Stalker tackled you to the ground," Blitzwing explained casually. "I shot him down, but two other came. Anyway, they didn't resist too long against my tank mode."

"Ah?" Dirge felt again the pain in his head and probed the metal with a hand. A thin energon trail leaked from a crack in his cone. "Now, I remember. Thanks for helping me." He finally added.

"You' welcome."

"What do we do now?"

The triple changer pointed at a high gate, closed by still security doors. "We should try to open them. I'm sure we're going to find something interesting behind," Blitzwing suggested.

"How do you want to pierce them? They are certainly laser proof," Dirge objected.

"Laser proof… but not triple changer proof. How many cubes do you bet I can smash those doors?" Blitzwing asked joyfully.

"I don't bet. I'm sure you can't… and you shouldn't try. You will just harm you," Dirge retorted, not really willing to follow the triple changer in his stupid challenge. His head hurt too much for that!

"Stand aside and watch the maestro of Destruction at work!" Blitzwing retorted, switching to his powerful tank mode.

His tracks ripped at the metal ground, leaving deep marks on it as the triple changer pushed on his engines while braking hard, in order to maximise his speed. He finally relaxed the brake and charged straight ahead at a speed far higher than a normal tank. He slammed full speed against the doors, which shook but didn't break.

"I told you it was impossible to break!" Dirge said.

"I haven't told my last word!" The triple changer's voice echoed in the hangar while the tank moved back. "Watch this!" he added, slamming against the door once again. This time the doors half split open. "And now, the grand finale!" he announced.

"What?"

The tank moved his turret so that the cannon pressed against the smashed doors, and fired. His whole frame shook once the laser broken up the metal.

"Ah! Ah! Now, that's what I call a shot!" Blietzwing giggled once he came back to his robot mode. "Let's having a look at the other side!" he added, stepping through the remains of the gate.

"What do you see?" Dirge asked, processing to follow him reluctantly.

"Oh! Slag!" Dirge startled when he heard the triple changer screaming, and felt his energon ran cold when Blitzwing flew backward, driven back by a dozen of Insecticons. An audio-splitting squealing echoed in the hangar as more Insecticons invaded the place. "The swarm!" he stuttered, watching with horror the black insects rushing at him.

O

"You heard that?" Scourge asked at low voice.

"Yes. It looked like Dirge's voice," replied Cyclonus, scanning carefully the narrow tunnel they were crawling in.

"I would rather say… He was screaming in terror."

Cyclonus stopped his difficult exploration of the tunnel to look at his companion. "You're right. And that's disturbing; Dirge is not the kind of warrior to scream with fear. He's rather the silent type, even on the battlefield." He agreed.

"If you consider that we had to get rid off of four Stalkers before getting that far… I'd say we're getting warm."

Cyclonus nodded and went silent a few kliks. He suddenly raised a hand and placed his index before his lip components, beckoning Scourge to keep quiet.

_(What?)_ The Sweep asked through the comm.-link.

_(Listen carefully.)_

Scourge kept quiet, adjusting his audio acuity so that he could catch even the lowest noise of a cockroach crawling in a rusted pipe. The buzzing of cybernetic insect wings and metal mandibles reached it clearly, leaving no doubt about its origin.

_(The swarm. We're close to it!)_

(Yes. I'm ready to bet that Dirge's cries are linked to it. We should go and see what happened, very carefully.)

_(I'm following you Cyclonus.)_

Galvatron's lieutenants resumed silently their crawling into the narrow tunnel, being extremely careful to avoid emitting any noise by scratching their armours on the walls. The noise rapidly became a real ruckus, allowing the two experienced warriors to give a first evaluation of the enemy resources.

_(There must be at least two or three hundred Insecticons in there,)_ Scourge ventured.

_(Maybe more. We need visual contact.)_

They stopped as an airlock prevented any further progression.

_(I'm dealing with this. Just grab the edge so that it doesn't drop.) _Scourge informed, beckoning Cyclonus to take hold of the rusted cover. He then raised a hand, which he retracted and replaced by a soldering iron. He worked on the airlock during half a cycle, cutting a circle shape in the thick metal. _(Here we are!)_ He warned once finished.

_(I have it!)_

Scourge and Cyclonus moved the piece of metal away, just enough to clear out, enabling them to have a view on what was behind.

_(Oh, Primus!)_

That's all Cyclonus could tell as he blankly stared at the termitarium like hangar. He couldn't say what colours were the walls as the Insecticon clones invaded every inch of available space. In the middle of this hanging swarm, a sarcophagus and a small bot focused the attention of all the alien insects.

_(The Sarcophagus… and Prowl) _Scourge said, pointing at the bot. _(He's still unconscious.)_

_(Fortunately for him. He would be scared to death otherwise.)_

They started as they heard cries coming from the other side of the hangar, just opposite to their point of observation. It was two grave male voices with metallic inflections, betraying their Cybertronian origins.

_(Blitzwing and Dirge, certainly.)_ Cyclonus ventured.

The two bots appeared, being roughly pushed to the Sarcophagus and the place where Prowl lied.

"You miserable pest! I swear I will all torn you apart!" they heard Blitzwing threatening before he received a strong punch to the side of his helmet, bringing him to his knees.

_(What do we do now?) _Scourge asked nervously.

Cyclonus watched Dirge as he helped the triple changer to get to his feet, bringing as much support as he could.

_(We have to transfer the information to Megatron. He must change his plans and rethink the strategy. I don't think we can take both the Stalkers and this swarm by ourselves!)._

* * *

**Outside the Base 0025, not far from the Forbidden Area**

"Will you leave me alone, you moron!" Starscream shrieked, trying to slap once again Skywarp in the face. Unfortunately for him, and despite the countless kicks he had received in the legs, the purple and black Seeker still refused to listen to his threat and pleas. And he was physically stronger, leaving few hopes to Starscream to escape from him. "What's your problem, idiot?"

"Your unpredictability, that's my problem, butt head!" Skywarp shrieked in return, grabbing him round the waist.

"Get your hands off me, cretin!"

"No way, stupid prick!"

"Imbecile! Aargh!"

"Shut up, you retard!"

"CAN YOU STOP ARGUING?"

The voice echoed very close to their audio receptors, obliging the two Seekers to suspend their insults. They both glared at Skyfire, and then gaped at Thundercracker, cradled in the arms of the shuttle former.

"I'm missing a point here," Starscream murmured and suddenly pushed away Skywarp as he recovered from his stupor. "Leave me alone, I have to go and rescue Megatron!" he shrieked at his wing mate and then turned to Skyfire. "Please, tell him to let me go, Sky!"

"Are you sure that Megatron is in danger, Starscream? We need to be sure that it is not an hallucination and that your fear is justified," Skyfire replied calmly.

Starscream reached his canopy with a hand and set his palm over the yellow glass.

"I feel it in my spark; his pain. " He said and then bit his lips. "Megatron and me merged our spark last night. We're bonded, although it isn't official and not made according to the Cybertronian rules. But the result is here: I feel his pain. It is so precise that I even know that he had been shot in the right shoulder and wing!" he screamed as a shiver ran through his body.

The three bots covered him with an anxious look, not daring saying a word.

"Now, do you understand why I have to go?" Starscream asked with sorrows in the voice.

Skywarp, Thundercracker and Skyfire exchanged a few worried look.

"Okay, Screamer, we believe you." Skywarp replied reluctantly. "Do you even know where Megatron is?"

The white and blue Seeker pointed at a large hole in the walls of the base.

"One kilometre from here!" he replied and then hovered on its direction. "Sorry, I can't lose anymore time," he said over his shoulder.

The three robots exchanged new worried and reprobative looks.

"Okay, Screamer. We're going with you!" Skywarp said before giving out a deep sigh.

**_To be continued_**


	32. Ch 32: Insecticon Hunt Part 3

Dear readers, you have my humble apologies for this delay in the publication. The last chapters of Vicious Circle are eating up my imagination.

Many thanks to Krystalmaze for the proofreading.

**

* * *

Chapter 32: Insecticon hunt (3)**

**Base 0025, nearby the Forbidden area**

"Okay Screamer, I give up. We're coming with you," Skywarp announced reluctantly. He then sighed heavily: "Primus, I should carry your sorry aft back to the Atlantis instead of giving in to your whims!"

Starscream put up a face, but finally outlined a smile as he seized the dark Seeker's hand.

"Thank you," he said with sincerity.

His three companions looked at him in surprise: thanking somebody had never been part of the Air Commander's habits. Starscream should be very touched by their support to say those two words.

"Hum… Yes. Shall we go now?" Skywarp retorted, feeling awkward.

O

The crevice in the carling wasn't very large, obliging the three Seekers to fold back their wings and progress carefully in this mass of shards, wires and concrete. Skyfire had more difficulties due to his size, which was almost the triple of the Seekers. He folded his wings in his back and crawled, grazing his paint shop on the dusty remains. They made slow progress on five hundred meters, until they found the exit to a larger ramp.

"Wait a minute! I go first!" Skywarp decreed, shoving Starscream out his way. He jumped out the narrow tunnel and landed smoothly on his feet. He immediately scanned the dark place in search of potential enemies. "You can come: it's clear!" he finally announced.

His three companions landed with caution behind him, running their scans to catch the topography. The place was no different from the usual Salonian departure ramps, and some Stalkers still stood on their boxes, waiting for pilots that would never come.

"Here! There is a gate!" Thundercracker remarked, pointing at a heavy door painted in yellow with black stripes.

"I guess it leads to a tunnel," Starscream said. He walked to the door and set a hand on its surface, while reaching his cockpit with the other hand. "Megatron is not far behind. I can feel it!" he murmured.

"Okay, then, what are we waiting for? Let's open it," Skywarp suggested, walking to the command board. He typed the keyboard, but it didn't function anymore. "Ouch, looks like it gonna be a little more difficult to open it than it seemed."

"Let just blow it!" Starscream retorted, as he opened his chest to reveal cluster bombs.

"Wait, Starscream. We should be a little more subtle and avoid drawing attention on us," Skyfire said, setting a hand on his shoulder vent. "Let me try and open it." He said before punching strongly the shutter in the middle.

The blow was precise, well calibrated, deforming slightly the metal surface. Skyfire punched it repeatedly, until a clear and neat hole appeared on its middle. He dug his hands in the crack and pushed on both sides, enlarging the hole until it became large to allow a Seeker to go through.

"Impressive!" Thundercracker exclaimed as he looked at the shuttle with shiny optics.

"Thank you," Skyfire retorted, obviously proud of this compliment.

"Ahem… Keep focusing," Skywarp retorted as he poked his head around the hole. Making a sweep of the tunnel, he then noticed a red gleam a few meters from him. "What is that?" he wondered as he reached a hand.

"Warp'! No!" Starscream suddenly exclaimed and pulled the dark Seeker backwards. Fortunately for Skywarp, Starscream's action prevented him being bitten by the robot, which the two Seekers identified immediately.

"It's an Insecticon! Fall back! Fall back!" Skywarp screamed as he turned to the other fliers. He was suddenly pinned down by the Insecticon – Kickback's clone – which landed on his back.

"You little son of a glitch!" Starscream growled, and fired at the grasshopper former, sending him fly back to the darkness of the tunnel. "You're okay Warp?" he asked, giving a hand to the Seeker to help him to his feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I didn't see the slagging bug coming!" Skywarp groaned in annoyance, brushing the dust from his paint job.

"Wait a minute!" Thundercracker exclaimed, beckoning his two siblings to keep quiet. "You don't hear something?" he asked.

The four Transformers went silent, and immediately picked up a light buzzing, which quickly grew in intensity.

"It's like… the noise made by flapping metallic wings," Starscream said before throwing a horror-stricken look at his comrades. "The swarm!" he exclaimed.

He hadn't the time to tell them to move away when a horde of Shrapnel, Kickback and Bombshell clones swallowed them.

**

* * *

Base 0025, the forbidden area**

Astrotrain tightened his hold on Octane before shooting at a furtive shadow getting a little too close to his taste. He leaned against the door of the hangar, groping about for the command board. He found it, feeling with great disappointment it had been ripped open by a laser shot.

"Slag it! How will we go out of this hell if I can't open this door?" he cursed, holding his bleeding comrade closer.

He ran a search on his battle system, but it fed back only one possibility to escape; switch to his alt-mode and crashed through the door. This implied to let Octane down at least a good minute, leaving him exposed to the enemy fire. He gave out a low growl of rage when he realized it could sign Octane's death warrant.

"There must be another way to get out of here!"

He suddenly made out a laser flash aiming straight at his head, and had only the time to throw himself on to the ground, pinning Octane under his weight. He set a hand on the triple changer's mouth, smothering his screams of pain.

_(Slag you all, Autobots! What are you waiting for? We're dying here!)_ he barked through the comm.-link established with the command room.

_(Hold on, Astrotrain. Our rescue team is almost there! You have just to resist a few more minutes!)_ Jazz assured.

_(That's easy for you to ask it! That's not you who is going to be scrapped by those damned Stalkers!)_ he retorted, holding up his riffle and aiming at a shadow.

His fire was followed by a noise of an explosion. Once again, his aim had been successful, but he knew he wouldn't be able to resist a long time. Still keeping a hand on Octane's mouth, he scanned frantically the dark, trying to make out the enemies.

"Hold on, we're coming… he said! Humph, something tells me we will be already scrapped metal when those idiots find their way to this hangar!" he grumbled, aiming once again at a furtive shadow. "No! Really!"

His swearing was suddenly covered by a deafening explosion, followed by a radio-splitting crash. He felt the temperature rising dramatically on his back before something heavy collapsed on him and his unfortunate companion. _'The door,'_ he thought, pushing on his forearms to avoid being flattened by the heavy piece of metal. Around them, it was a chaos of laser shots and loud clangs, as the attack had transformed into a savage fray. Astrotrain believed he could hear the characteristic noise of a flame-thrower. He tried to free himself from the attraction of the door, but couldn't move enough without risking to collapse on his unfortunate companion_. _

"Me, Snarl, burn you all!" he suddenly heard. The voice immediately rang a bell in his mind. _'Oh nice, the Dinocreeps to the rescue,'_ he thought, letting out a sigh. _'I just hope those idiots won't step on me in the process!'_

Astrotrain tried once again to wave out the heavy door, to no avail. Around him, the sounds of battle decreased, certainly for lack of fighters. Laser shots finally stopped, leaving the hangar in a relative silence.

Still prisoner of the door's remains, Astrotrain didn't know anymore if he should say something or keep quiet. _Who had won the battle? The rescue team or the Stalkers?_ He stiffened when he heard heavy footsteps approaching the metal heap he was the prisoner of. He looked twice at it: it looked like the feet of this feeble-mind Snarl… or Sludge, wasn't it? He was to ask when he felt the pressure on his body decrease and then vanish when the heavy broken door was removed and sent flying to the next wall.

"Look! Me Sludge, found a Chow-Chow beneath the door!" the Dinobot joyfully declared.

Although he was somewhat grateful to Sludge for his rescue, Astrotrain couldn't help glaring at him.

"Shut up, cretin!" he barked. His expression changed as he looked to Octane, who was starting to turn to grey. "He needs a medic immediately! Hurry!" he shouted the paroxysm of panic.

**

* * *

Base 0025, nearby the Forbidden Area**

"Wait! I'm not going anywhere with you, unless you tell me why you have freed me!" Thanatron groaned, pushing away his uncle.

Galvatron gave him a dangerous look and stood in front of him, his face a mere inch from the Salonian General's.

"I thought it was evident: I want you to help me in saving my brother from the Insecticons and the Stalkers alike."

Thanatron gave out a derisive laugh.

"Are you kidding me? Do you really think I'm going to join you and save my father? In case you haven't gotten it yet, he's the Transformer that I hate the most in the Universe!" he stated and flashed his optics angrily. "Seeing him dead will the best thing in my life ever!"

"You know you're lying to yourself!" Galvatron retorted, outlining a knowing smirk.

"Shut up!" Thanatron stepped aside and finally punched the nearby wall. "You know nothing about what I'm going through!" he growled.

"You're wrong: I perfectly understand the emotional mess that is wrecking you right now." Galvatron retorted, setting a hand on his nephew's shoulder. Thanatron couldn't suppress a nervous shudder. "You have just discovered that your mother had deliberately lied to you to set you against my brother and me. I know it hurts."

"No… You don't," Thanatron replied pitifully. "You understand nothing."

"You know you don't have other options that to get along with us. What do you think your mother is going to do if you come back to her? She's going to kill you, because she doesn't care about you," Galvatron groaned, squeezing lightly Thanatron's shoulder. "But if you stay with your father, I can tell you're going to be safe. Megatron doesn't want anything else than making up for the lost time as your father."

Thanatron didn't reply anything, and lowered his face as to hide it from Galvatron's inquiring look.

"Leave me alone!"

"No way… I know you're suffering. However, once again, you're lying to yourself when you pretend to hate your father. If you hated him, you would have tried to break your shackles and kill him, even at the cost of your life." Galvatron added, forcing the young general to face him. "But you didn't: you just watched him arguing with me, and I think I could detect some admiration in your optics when you looked at your father."

Thanatron finally turned his face to look at his uncle. Galvatron realized he was crying.

"My father… his attention is turned to Starscream. He had never held me in esteem, and he will never. Starscream – and only Starscream – counts for him."

Galvatron was tempted to laugh at the remark. Starscream hadn't made a secret of his jealousy towards Megatron's unsuspected heir. The fact that the same heir came up with the same jealousy was somehow… utterly… laughable!

"You're as childish as Starscream, do you know that?" he mocked, very well aware that it could trigger a terrible outburst from his nephew. "Megatron wasn't aware of your existence, because of your mother."

However, as he had expected, Thanatron didn't try to attack him. The young mech looked away, his intakes working hard to cool his boiling internals. He finally wiped away his tears, failing to erase traces of his emotional falling out. He finally looked back at Galvatron.

"So what, now?"

Galvatron smirked and held out to Thanatron the blaster that he had thrown to the ground before trying to rebel.

"Now, we're going to find your father, help him to neutralize both Insecticons and Stalkers. And after that, we'll have a long discussion with your father and find a way to leave all in good terms, including Starscream." Galvatron said before hugging his nephew. "Believe me son: we'll all be a family again."

Once he was released from the crushing embrace, Thanatron stared at him a long minute before nodding. Galvatron saw new tears forming at the corner of his optics, but he didn't smirk.

For once in his life, he had been sincere with somebody: he wanted his family back.

**

* * *

Base 0025, the Forbidden Area**

Starscream's fists were sore from repeatedly hitting plating. His armor was all bruised by being punched and scratched by the Insecticon clones. He tried to give back each punch he received, sometimes scratching and biting the Insect robots. He ignored where Skywarp, Thundercracker and Skyfire had gone, but supposed they were struggling as desperately as he was for their life. He leaned against a wall to support his tired frame and kicked away a Bombshell clone when the Insecticon tried to bite his leg. He then felt that the wall behind him start to collapse and tried to jump away, but the ground suddenly caved in, swallowing him in a dark hole.

The Seeker cried each time his body bounced on an obstacle as he fell deeper within the base. His fall lasted an eternity, until he crashed flat on water and lost consciousness.

He rebooted slowly, feeling the displeasing sensation of water on his joints and plating. His hands dug in the mud as he levered himself to his all fours. He gave out a plaintive cry as his body complained violently to the effort. He remained unmoving during long kliks while his vents cycled loudly, trying to stabilize his heating systems. Once he was sure he could stand up without collapsing to a heap, he slowly rose to his feet and leaned against the wall.

"Where am I?" he murmured and set on his infrared optical sensors. The image he got, showed a pit, certainly dedicated to the spare part evacuation of damaged Stalkers. "Nice! I'm in garbage." He muttered, kicking away a large metal bar that he finally identified as the ulna of an alien robot.

After a few additional minutes of rest, he finally resumed his walk, having pinpointed an evacuation airlock. Starscream felt particularly attracted to this direction, he could feel Megatron's presence. His promised one was very close. He shivered when he detected the pain in his lover's energy field, forcing him to run despite the darkness of the place.

"Megatron!" he screamed when the pulses became so strong that his spark hurt. "Megatron, please, answer me!" he shouted, disregarding any prudence.

"Star… scream…"

The murmur was so low that the Seeker wasn't sure whether it was his imagination or if his audios had really picked up his lover's voice. He ran quicker until he stumbled and almost fell onto the floor. A firm hand grabbed him by the shoulders, preventing him finishing ungraciously on the ground. He raised an anxious look at the other, his optics meeting the red lightening of a familiar visor.

"Soundwave?" he tentatively asked.

"Advise: keep silent. Enemies are around us. Very close."

The Seeker was too thrilled to listen to the advice. He grabbed the former Communication Officer by the shoulders and breathed raggedly.

"Megatron is alive, isnt't he?"

Soundwave didn't reply immediately but instead, helped him to rise to his feet. Once Starscream was steadier standing, the navy blue flier grabbed his chin and forced him to stare at his red visor.

"Listen to me, Starscream. We need to evacuate Megatron ASAP."

"Why? What did happen to him?" Starscream exclaimed, feeling his knees buckling under him.

"He's been badly damaged. He needs to be evacuated."

Starscream's hands tightened on Soundwave's shoulders.

"Lead me to him. Now!" he ordered.

O

They walked only a few meters before they reached the Decepticon leader. Megatron leaned against a wall, his left hand clutching hard his shoulder.

"Megatron!" The Decepticon leader lifted his head, unable to suppress a grimace of pain when Starscream pressed his body against him, hugging him possessively. "What happened? Who did that to you?" he stammered.

The silver warrior trembled and leaned harder against the wall, obviously exhausted. He grabbed Starscream's chin, and conscious of the Seeker's deep worry, he smiled encouragingly.

"I'm fine, Starscream, don't worry," he assured before kissing the Jet former on the lips. He ran a hand along Starscream's face and neck, while he imprisoned his small waist into a firm embrace. "See, I'm fine, love," he added once he broke the passionate kiss.

"No, you're not!" the jet retorted, pressing a hand on his patched-up shoulder. Megatron choked out a whimper, not enough to hide his pain. "You can't fight in such a condition. You have to go to a repair bay and have your shoulder fixed!"

"No, I can't leave the battlefield and abandon my men for that!" Megatron groaned, pushing back the Seeker. "I came here to lead them to victory, not to prepare a retreat!"

"You're hurt! The only thing you'll manage to do is be a burden or worse, be killed!" Starscream scoffed, refusing to step back. He set his hands on Megatron's chest, forcing him to lean back against the wall. "Don't take it as a provocation, Megatron. I just don't want to lose you!"

The Decepticon leader looked down at him with an unreadable expression on his face.

"I know you love me, Starscream, and I do love you. However, I'm here to restore the Decepticon Army's glory, and-"

"I don't care about the Decepticon Army's glory! I don't want it being built at the cost of your life!" Starscream screamed and then buried his face into Megatron's neck. "Please, my love, don't risk your life. I don't want to lose you!"

They stayed in the arms of each other during a good breem, during which Soundwave was careful not to disturb them. Megatron caressed Starscream's wings gently, kissing his helmet.

"I need your strength Starscream. Please, help me fight back. I've never needed your support more than today," he finally murmured in the Jet's audios. "Please, love…"

Starscream looked up at him and nodded unwillingly.

"Okay, I'll help you. Nevertheless, if your condition worsens, I swear I'll bring you back to Ratchet's repair bay, even if I have to knock you out," the Seeker replied in a threatening voice. "What do you want me to do?"

"Help me to walk," Megatron replied as he bent forward and kissed Starscream's lips. "I'm not completely steady on my feet." He added. Starscream positioned himself to Megatron's side and slipped an arm beneath the larger bot's valid shoulder.

"And now?" the Seeker asked.

"Now… Soundwave, contact each team and check their position. We need to regroup and share all information before coming up with a new attack strategy," Megatron ordered as he glared at his Communication Officer. "And put me through to the command Room. We need some reinforcement," he added.

O

"At your command, Megatron."

The Communication Officer hurriedly opened his comm.-Link with the other Decepticons. Cyclonus was the first to answer, immediately transferring him a report about the Insecticons' lair. Soundwave cross checked the data with the topographic reports he had downloaded from Teletran II, and soon realized they were only a few meters from the Insecticons.

"My lord, Cyclonus reported on his position. He's very close to the Insecticons and has the sarcophagus on visual." He informed. "According to my calculation, it's a stone's throw away from us."

Megatron nodded quietly, resting on Starscream's shoulder.

"Tell them we'll meet up with him. Ask him to gather a maximum of information about the Insecticons."

"Yes, my lord. Another point: Blitzwing and Dirge are prisoners together with Prowl. He tells me that he thought he heard Skywarp's voice, but is not sure yet."

Starscream startled when he heard the name of his wing mate.

"Skywarp? No!" he exclaimed, throwing a worried look at his bond mate.

Megatron caressed lightly the tip of his wing, trying to soothe his anguish.

"We'll call for reinforcement, Starscream. I swear that we will free him without damages," he assured.

Starscream outlined a weak smile and nodded without conviction. Through his energy field, Soundwave seized perfectly the deep anxiety that took over the Jet. Starscream was terrified at the idea of losing Megatron or his wing mate.

* * *

"Take your hand off me, you slagging bug!" Skywarp shrieked, trying to break free from the grip of the five Insecticons which had been dragging him on the floor for a good half cycle. "Let me go, dammit!" he shrieked trying to kick a Bombshell away.

His escape attempt was fruitless, as he was tied in metal web that tightly imprisoned his legs and arms. His hands, pressed to his thighs, could barely cling to the ground, leaving a streak of dust each time he managed to dig his fingers in the mix of mud and dust. The most painful area of his body was certainly his wings, which sensors fed back each rough contact with the ground. Exhausted by the pain and his unsuccessful struggle, Skywarp stopped protesting, allowing the darkness to envelop him as he fell briefly unconscious.

He came back to consciousness a breem later, his thoughts racing to his wing mates, Starscream and Thundercracker. Through the horde of Insecticons which had swept them like a tidal wave, he remembered he had seen Skyfire grabbing Thundercracker around the waist, blasting the ceiling with a missile. What happened after, he didn't know, as he had received a strong punch in his helmet that had briefly knocked him out. Through his ringing audios, he thought he had heard Starscream living up to his name by screeching death threat to his aggressors and shooting his null rays. However, when he had come to fully consciousness, he hadn't seen his petulant Air Commander around.

"Leave me alone, you sons of a glitch!" he shrieked again, his strength fed by a renewed anger.

The Insecticons came to a halt, allowing Skywarp's overtaxed wing sensors to come to a rest. The overflow of alert messages decreased, allowing Skywarp to concentrate his thoughts and run a scan of his surroundings. He was obviously in a vast termitarium, with hundreds of Insecticons hanging to the ceiling and the walls. A horrible and endless screech echoed in this vast place, coming from the frenetic friction of mandibles against mandibles.

"What the hell is-?"

His complain was cut sharp when he was grabbed by the wings, claws digging in his delicate wing panels, drawing him a howl of pain. He heard a creaking, like a wire fence opening, before he was sent crashing backwards to the floor. The same fence closed with a sinister noise, leaving him in the half darkness. Some of his jailers hung to the wire fencing and threw him colorful insults, to which he responded by hurling abuses.

"Yeah, well put!" Skywarp startled and turned around, scanning frenetically his surroundings to look at his interlocutor. He immediately recognized the turret on the large bot's helmet. "Hello Warp'!"

"Blitzwing?! What are you doing here?" the Seeker asked.

"We're like you: prisoners… " Blitzwing gestured to the far side of the large cell, beckoning two other bots to approach. "Like Dirge and Prowl as well."

The Autobot and the Conehead stood in front of the kneeling Seeker, who returned them a blank stare. Despite his surprise, Skywarp noticed Dirge's wings were dented, Blitzwing's left foot was smashed and the tactician's chest plating was heavily battered. As strange as it looked, Prowl was smiling, his smile becoming wider and wider by the klicks.

"People, I really think that those idiot bugs have made their biggest mistake since the beginning of this conflict!" Prowl declared, looking at Skywarp with twinkles in the optics.

The Seeker felt uneasy.

"What… what do you mean?" he asked in an unsure voice.

"I'm not sure I follow your train of thought, Prowl," Dirge remarked.

The tactician trotted to the Seeker and set a hand on his shoulder, patting it enthusiastically.

"They've just carried to their lair the only Transformer who can warp in and out of any place!" he joyfully explained. He then looked vibrantly at the suspicious Seeker. "Skywarp, you're going to warp out of here with the sarcophagus!" he said, pointing at the said cubic object.

Skywarp's look followed the direction and then came back to the tactician, while the Seeker gaped open.

"Yes Skywarp, you're going to save the day!"

**

* * *

In another part of the Forbidden Area**

"Please, Skyfire… We have to go back and find Skywarp and Starscream!" Thundercracker complained, trying to break free from the shuttle former's arm. His body was suddenly shaken by a violent cough that forced the Seeker to clutch at the other's plating.

"No, Thundercracker. You're not in a condition to go any further," Skyfire retorted, keeping a strong hold on the smaller body. "I was wrong to let you join with Starscream's stupid quest."

"No please…"

"You're bleeding, TC. I'm bringing you to Ratchet's medbay," the shuttle retorted with an air of determination.

Thundercracker wriggled about during a good minute and finally gave up when he realized that Skyfire wouldn't give in. The shuttle had grabbed him when the Insecticons had attacked, and flew away without a look back at the two other Seekers, who tried to fight back the metal bugs. Skyfire didn't care at all about them: only Thundercracker counted for him now. The blue Seeker went limp and set his head on the bigger mech's, and let his systems slowly power off. There was nothing he could do to help Skywarp and Starscream: he was too weak and too wounded to break free and go back to save them.

"I'm sorry, brothers," he murmured before falling into stasis lock.

Skyfire ran a hand on Thundercracker's back and wing, and let out a sigh when he realized his Seeker had fallen into stasis. He wasn't proud of leaving the two other Seekers behind, but he knew perfectly that Thundercracker was reaching his limitation. He couldn't let him endanger himself.

**

* * *

Close to the Insecticons' termitarium**

"Are you sure you want to go ahead?" Starscream asked worryingly when Megatron stumbled on a stone, almost bearing them to the ground. "It's still time to retrace our steps," he added.

"No, Starscream. You know I can't do that." Megatron threw him an encouraging look. "Shall we go?"

The Seeker nodded reluctantly and resumed his walk, Megatron resting even more heavily on him. Starscream sighed, pondering how much his lover could be stubborn when it was a question about the Decepticon army. He had been the Decepticon leader for so long that the army was an integral part of his life.

"Megatron… communication established with Scourge and Cyclonus. Meeting point: hundred meters ahead," Soundwave informed of his droning tone. "Assessment: no enemy activity in this sector."

"Perfect. We should hurry on, then."

As revived by the information, Megatron walked a little faster and straightened up, lightening Starscream's burden. They quickly arrived to an excavation without the slightest light, and set their infrared sensors on before disappearing into the darkness.

"My lord, it's nice to see you safe and alive."

Starscream recognized immediately Cyclonus' voice frequency. The spaceship former stood right in front of him, although the Seeker hadn't seen him approaching.

"Cyclonus, report!"

"As I have already mentioned to Soundwave, my lord, we are very close to the place the Insecticon swarm is regrouped. We count around 400 subjects. Kickback, Shrapnel and Bombshell entrenched themselves in the middle, together with the sarcophagus, which makes them very difficult to target."

Starscream couldn't see Megatron's face, but imagined him growling as a low growl reached his audios.

"Any other information?"

"The Insecticons keep Prowl, Blitzwing and Dirge prisoners in a corner of the termitarium. Skywarp joined them a few minutes ago."

"Skywarp, you say?" Starscream exclaimed, feeling hope revived a little. "Is he okay?"

"I think so. He was insulting the Insecticons."

The Seeker couldn't help chuckling. "That good old Warp'."

"That's interesting…" Megatron said. "That means we have a way to steal the sarcophagus from those miserable bugs… If this idiot has the good idea to warp out of his cell, or if his fellow prisoners give him the right idea."

"Megatron… Suggestion: I contact mentally Skywarp and give him the order to use his abilities," Soundwave promptly offered.

"That's a rich idea, but we need to plan this action in minute details," Megatron replied as he shifted his position, resting less heavily on Starscream. "But before… We need to call the Command Room and ask for reinforcement from those slagging Autobots. It grieves me to recognize it but we are by far outnumbered."

Starscream felt relieved when he heard his lover recognizing they needed help. Maybe he wasn't as stubborn as he believed. Taking advantage of the darkness, Starscream buried his face into Megatron's neck, nipping gently the cables. "I'm proud of you taking the good decision," he murmured inaudibly.

The warlord caressed gently the Seeker's back, where the wings met. "I'm not stupid enough to send us into a deadly trap," he murmured on the same low tone.

"My Lord, it's already done," Cyclonus informed. "When we understood the situation was desperate for us, we contacted the Command Room and explained them the problem. Jazz told us he would send reinforcement troops."

"Interesting… continue."

"Jazz contacted me just before you arrived. They retrieved Astrotrain and Octane from the hangar we had been attacked. Octane was very close to termination, but Ratchet stabilized him. He's now in stasis lock, with 50% survival chance."

Starscream squeezed involuntarily Megatron's hand. Octane had been a long time friend.

"We can only hope he will survive. Where are the troops now?"

"On their way to this place. We sent them all data about the termitarium. They are probably waiting for our orders," Scourge replied.

Megatron's hands trailed gently along Starscream's wing, as to soothe the worry of the Seeker.

"Who are the warriors sent by the Autobots?" he asked.

"The Dinobots, the twin Lamborghini, and some others… Hound, Mirage, Bluestreak, Ironhide…"

Megatron let out a sinister chuckle. Starscream understood perfectly the reason: the warriors engrossed with the rescue mission were ruthless warriors who had caused countless troubles to the Decepticons in the past.

"Tell them to deploy as to surround the termitarium." The Decepticon lord ordered and then added: "Now, it's time to teach the Insecticons who is the boss here!"

**To be continued**


	33. Ch 33: Insecticon Hunt Part 4

Many thanks to all readers who reviewed the chapter 32. I unfortunately had no time to reply to everybody.

I thank also Krystalmaze for editing of this chapter.

**

* * *

Chapter 33: Insecticons' hunt (4)**

**Close to the Insecticons' termitarium**

"Soundwave, send an encrypted message to the reinforcement troop. I want a complete report on the deployment," Megatron ordered, leaning on Starscream. "Meanwhile, Cyclonus… Ask Scourge to report on the situation in the termitarium."

"At your command, my Lord."

The two Decepticons hurriedly completed their task, both of their radio components beeping in the darkness of their temporary base of operations.

O

Ironhide's faceplate darkened when he was notified of a message coming from Soundwave. The old bot knew perfectly that the Communication Officer was one of the key actors of the on-going mission, but there was an old resentment preventing him to open the comm.-link. He chewed nervously at the bolt he crushed between his mandeta, like a human would chew at his cigar, and growled to himself.

"Bip… Bip." The signal became insistent.

"What do you want!?" he finally barked through the comm.-link.

_ Advice: silence recommended. Details on position, required. _

"What position? I believed that you were able to pinpoint us automatically, you mental bot'!"

_ Affirmative. Minimum requirement: comm.-link must be opened. Please, keep it open until I check your coordinates. _

Ironhide sighed heavily, fighting the urge to cut the communication or to scold at the Decepticon. Working hand to hand with the Decepticons was for him a kind of betrayal towards his conviction, something unnatural after so many million years of fight against Megatron and his army of killers. Maybe he was too old for this war against the Empire of Salonia, implying contrary-to-nature settlements with the past enemies.

_ Coordinates: recorded. Thanks for your cooperation. _

"Yeah. Don't bother me again, except to give me the green light for attacking those slagging bugs," Ironhide groaned, cutting the comm.-link. He spat out a thin layer of metal he had scratched from the bolt by chewing too hard. "Don't teach your grandmother to suck eggs, Decepticreep!"

O

"Let me see."

Sideswipe pushed his twin brother in the hope that Sunstreaker would leave him some space to have a look through the hole in the wall.

"You don't need to see it. I'm the thinker here: it's me who needs to observe the battlefield and decide of the strategy to attack," the yellow Lamborghini retorted, throwing his hand into Sideswipe's face, pushing him back. "Check your weapons, bro, and let the grownups do their work."

"Grownup my exhaust pipe!" Sideswipe tripped him up, sending Sunstreaker to his knees, and hurriedly set his optical component against the hole, looking eagerly at the swarm which was becoming agitated.

"Hey, moron, move your aft from here!" groaned Sunstreaker, which owned him a kick in the shoulder from his sibling.

The elder Lamborghini didn't admit defeat yet: he was quite used to this kind of physical game, bordering to abuses, with his younger brother. He rose to his feet and was ready to tackle Sideswipe to the ground when he received a signal from Soundwave.

"What do you want, spoilsport?" he asked, deeply annoyed.

_ Advice: keep your radio open. Position tracking undergoing. _

"What do you mean by "position tracking undergoing"? Soundwave, can't you talk like every normal bot?" Sunstreaker complained.

_ Fact: Soundwave can speak like a normal bot, but doesn't want to. Position tracking finished. Wait for attack green light and instructions._

The Decepticon Communication Officer closed the comm.-link, leaving Sunstreaker frustrated and grouchy.

"Something tells me that Soundwave is more grown up than you are," Sideswipe sniggered, not leaving his optics off the hole and the Insecticons' hive of activity.

Sunstreaker pouted as a matter of an answer and flashed his optics angrily.

"Get out of here, bro. It's MY observation spot!"

O

"Soundwave, report."

"My Lord, the position of the rescue team and the Decepticons are as follows," Soundwave replied in his casual droning voice, as he projected a 3D- representation of the future battlefield. "The blue marks show the Decepticons' position. Red colored-points represent the Autobots, and the green ones, the Insecticons."

"At first sight, we are fairly outnumbered," Starscream remarked. He pointed at the points representing Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Ironhide. "Perhaps, it should be wiser to have them positioned a few hundred-meters to the right of their current positions. We would cover more ground," he added.

"Very good remark, Starscream," Megatron cheered, rewarding discreetly his Seeker by a caress on his wing. Hidden by the complete darkness, the Jet-former welcomed this by a shudder, soon returning the favor on Megatron's broad wing. "Cyclonus, what is the situation on the nest?"

"According to Scourge, the Insecticons are getting agitated, but there is no sign of preparation for battle or outside expedition."

Megatron's internal engines hummed heavily as he let escape a low groan.

"I guess that they smell we're not going to give up so easily, but they ignore what's going to hit them." The warlord gave out a light chuckle at the idea. "Any news from Skywarp or the other prisoners?"

"Unfortunately not, Lord Megatron. All the radio waves are stopped by a kind of magnetic firewall. It is impossible to reach them through their comm.-links."

"That's annoying. We need some coordination with them if we want this silly Seeker to timely warp out with the sarcophagus." Megatron let out a defeated sigh. "Any ideas to reach him?"

"Megatron, my lord. I can send Lazerbeak," Soundwave offered.

"Lazerbeak is not Ravage, Soundwave. And I don't think that an aerial approach would be…"

"Lazerbeak is not as good as Ravage on the ground, but is able of some exploits," Soundwave cut in. "Please, let him a chance."

Once again, Megatron groaned deeply, fixing his optics upon Soundwave's visor. The Communication Officer was trying hard to regain his trust, becoming more inventive and cunning than ever. The Decepticon Leader decided that he wouldn't forgive him before the end of this operation, to keep him sharp and imaginative.

O

Few minutes later, Lazerbeak ejected from Soundwave's cockpit, landing on the ground before Soundwave.

"You know what information you have to transmit to Skywarp, don't you?" asked Megatron.

The hawk-former replied with a howl, and without awaiting further encouragement, he skipped along to a hole, folding his wings flat out his back to walk across it.

"Did he make it?" asked Starscream nervously.

"Yes, he's on the other side."

"Excellent, now, let's just hope that he makes it to Skywarp," Megatron just said.

O

Lazerbeak kept skipping along, walking down a slope until he reached the outskirts of the nest. The Insecticons were hanging here and there to the wall, busy with eating up the metal of the structure or to rub antennas or mandibles to communicate. Fortunately for the little hawk, they barely looked down, and the ground was littered with metal rubbish, some of them of big sizes, providing Lazerbeak some room to hide behind. He continued skipping along until the voice of Shrapnel put him into alert.

"Hey, didn't you see something moving around… around?" the Insecticon leader asked to Kickback, training his head-light to Lazerbeak's direction. The hawk immediately transformed into a cassette, his flat and thin shape escaping to the light.

"You're too nervous, Shrapnel. You certainly saw one of our clones moving to the ground," the other retorted before swallowing a Salonian mini-spy robot. "By the way, when will the Salonian delegation come? I hope they'll bring some of those delicious drones with them… We're running out of stock!"

"Stop thinking with your stomach, Kickback!" Bombshell complained. "This is an important operation for us!"

"Yeah, yeah… I know!"

The three Insecticon leaders continued to babble about their future transaction with the Empire of Salonia. Slowly, and silently, Lazerbeak partially transformed to his hawk-alt mode, keeping his wings unfolded, and resumed his skipping. He walked to the improvised prison where Skywarp and his mates were kept, giving out a very-low frequency howl to signal his presence.

"Hey, look, it's Lazerbeak!" whispered Dirge, nodding at the Cassette.

Skywarp threw the hawk a surprised look and rubbed his optics tiredly.

"Oh, Primus! Is it me or he's skipping like a chicken?" he asked, which owned him a smack in the helmet from Blitzwing.

"Shut up, Warp'!" the triple changer groaned as he knelled, beckoning Lazerbeak to approach. "Come here, my little friend. I guess that you are not here by chance."

Once Lazerbeak was close enough, Blitzwing grabbed him and immediately brought him to the back-end of the cell.

"Cover us… The Insecticons must not see him," Prowl ordered, standing in front of the Cassette as to shield him from the Insecticons. Dirge, Blitzwing and Skywarp imitated him, hiding Lazerbeak from an unwanted sight.

"Now, Lazerbeak, tell us… Is Megatron around?" Prowl asked with hope.

As a matter of an answer, Lazerbeak's optics flashed, projecting the face of Megatron just before their optics.

"Greetings, my friends… If you listen to this video, it is that Lazerbeak has succeeded to reach for you. Now, listen carefully to my orders. Here what we're going to sweep aside the Insecticons, once and for all…"

O

The Insecticons clones were still busy with devouring the panels of their nest when a piercing howl disturbed them from their task. A humming, then a loud clash immediately followed it as a tank smashed the fence of the improvised prison.

"The prisoners try to escape… escape. Stop them… them!"

An explosion sent the bug formers flying away, and a crater broke the ground where Shrapnel previously stood. Bombshell and Kickback looked with horror at the damage, identifying the result, caused by a familiar fusion cannon.

"Me… Megatron! He's here!" Kickback stuttered, scanning frantically the surroundings.

"Well done, you morons. Perhaps, you're not as stupid as you seem!"

The two Insecticons fist their optics on the tall figures that appeared at the other side of the termitarium. Megatron stood, his majestic wings fully deployed around his powerful body, casting his shadow over the army of bug formers. Starscream stood by his side, supporting him lightly, one of his null-ray aiming straight at the two commanding Insecticons.

"Do you really think that you will stop us? Only the two of you?" Bombshell sniggered.

"Yeah, where is your army, Megacreep?" Kickback mocked.

Megatron gave out a dark chuckle. Starscream outlined a devious smile, literally devouring his leader with a pervert look in the optics.

"You wanna see my army? Then, be it!"

O

Skywarp hurried to the sarcophagus, taking advantage of the surprise created by Megatron's diversion. As usual, the Decepticon leader realized a perfect performance, being provocative and mocking enough to unnerve the most serene Autobot. The Insecticons ate his provocation perfectly well, vexed by Megatron's self-importance and the smirk plastered on Starscream face. Laser shots started to rain from every-side as Megatron's troops opened fire from their hidden positions, keeping the Insecticon swarm occupied.

His progression became more difficult once Shrapnel pinpointed him, while he was only a few hundred meters from his target and sent a dozen of his siblings after him. Fortunately, Dirge and Prowl were not faraway behind him: Dirge shot two grasshopper formers before tackling three others to the ground. Prowl covered him with a sustained fire, enabling him to reduce the distance with the sarcophagus.

"Don't ask yourself any question, Warp'. Just do it!"

Skywarp scanned the surroundings to pinpoint Starscream, who had just sent him this ultimate encouragement. The Seeker was fighting fiercely, shooting with an insane joy every Insecticons who had the misfortunate to approach him too close. He looked like a demon, his beauty barely hiding his true nature: he was a harbinger of death, an angel of destruction. Close to him, Megatron fought as well, despite his bleeding wound. The angel of death had a protector, who jealously guarded him from dangerous shot or sharp mandibles.

"Do it! Warp' Do it!"

Bucked up by these encouragements, Skywarp changed up to next gear. He ran, breaking through the front-line, smashing into mechanical stag beetles and grasshoppers with a ferocious enthusiasm, tripping over rhinoceros beetles with passion. Arrived at fifty meters from the sarcophagus, he jumped, taking care to land beside the metal cylinder and set a servo on its surface. He immediately initiated the warping program, targeting the only place he wished to be.

**

* * *

The Atlantis, Command Room**

"Stop moving. I need to spot-weld this plating," Arcee told off.

Springer complied, grimacing when the welder melted the metal of his cheek, putting together the cracked plating. A tremendous crash echoed in the command room, followed by horrendous swearing in Cybertronian, which ruined the femme's concentration.

"Primus! What was it?" she exclaimed, for fear of an enemy attack.

"Stay here!" Springer rose slowly to his feet, unsteady and quivering. He held up his rifles, beckoning Arcee to stay aside. "I'm going to check what this ruckus was."

"I'm coming with you. You're too wounded to fight alone!"

Springer tried to complain, but Arcee cast him a look showing she wouldn't admit rebuffing. They slowly walked up to the upper deck, finding a heap of wings and legs, wrapped around an emergency pod.

"Skywarp… What are you doing here!" she barked.

The dark Seeker jumped to his feet, setting his red optics on her.

"I did it, Arcee! I saved the day!" he stated proudly, almost giggling. "I robbed the sarcophagus from the Insecticons!"

"What are you talking about? What is this sarcophagus?" the femme bot asked, before finally blowing her top. "Skywarp, can you tell what you, Decepticons, are slagging doing outside this ship?"

"Eh… Arcee, why are you getting angry?"

"Why is she getting angry?" Springer roared, blowing a fuse. "Galvatron knocked me out a cycle ago and left the ship with Thanatron! That's why we are all angry with you, Decepticons!"

Skywarp stared at them blankly, not believing what he had just heard.

"Oh slag! Did you inform the Commanding Officers…? Shockwave or Jazz?" he asked in panic.

"Of course! I called them a quarter of a cycle ago, when I found Springer!" Arcee's expression got even colder. "Can you tell me what that betrayal is?"

"I don't know. Primus, I have to warn Megatron… I have to go back there!" Skywarp gestured frantically to the sarcophagus as he walked away. "Keep this with you and tell the Commandment that the sarcophagus is aboard the Atlantis!" he stammered.

"Hey, wait! What are you talking about?"

Skywarp ignored Arcee's question and initiated his warping program, ready to go back to the Insecticon's termitarium. He, however, changed his mind and walked resolutely to the Autobot Femme.

"Actually, I might die if I go back to the battle," he whispered. He grabbed Arcee by the waist, toppled her backward and covered her mouth plates with his lip components, giving her a kiss like the earthling actors did in their movies, under the horrified look of Springer. "Now, if I die, I won't have regrets," he added, satisfied as he broke the kiss and gazed almost lovingly at her.

Arcee remained dumbfounded, gazing back at him in deep confusion. She somewhat got a grip on herself when Skywarp warped out, letting her fall to the ground.

**

* * *

The Forbidden Area**

The first thought that crossed Skywarp's mind when he warped in the battlefield, was that he had landed into hell. He didn't recognize the place he had left just a few minutes ago, transformed into a gigantic and deadly pyrotechnic performance as laser shots and bombs rained on all around. The fighters – Decepticons, Autobots, Insecticons alike – were so busy slaying each other that nobody took care that the Seeker had returned.

Skywarp scanned the surrounding chaos in search of Megatron, to inform him of Galvatron's potential betrayal. He first pinpointed Sludge and Snarl, who had found a new usage to Insecticons' clones: the two Dinobots held an Insecticon on each hand, and used as improvised clubs. The clones were starting to fall back, afraid to end-up like their unfortunate siblings, with the skull open on their cranial circuitry. Not far from the two metallic saurians, the twins were playing the snipers, hitting the bull's eye each time they pulled the trigger.

An explosion hit the ground just next to him, bearing him to his knees. He immediately scanned the battlefield, in search of the one who had fired at him, ready to shoot. He found the guilty Insecticon, being mangled by Ironhide.

"Don't stay in the middle of the fray, son! You make a target of yourself!" the old Autobot groaned, shooting at another Insecticon. He spat the bolt he sucked at. "Move your aft… now!"

Spring-driven by Ironhide's injunction, Skywarp jumped to his feet and searched again for the Decepticon leader. He didn't see the big white frame, but perfectly heard the high-pitched voice of Starscream spitting out cursed and death threat in Cybertronian. And where Starscream was, Megatron wasn't far away. He ran into the direction, smashing his fist into metal insect-like bodies when an Insecticon tried to stop him. He finally made out the Decepticon leader when something heavy landed on his back and clang to his shoulder, hitting him with rare fury.

"My Sarcophagus… phagus! Where did you put it... put it?" the so characteristic voice of Shrapnel echoed in his audios while sharp claws dug into his shoulder platting. "Give it back… back!"

Skywarp spun round and round, trying to eject the nasty bug that scratched his panel, but Shrapnel clang tightly to his back. At loss with ideas, the Seeker rammed backward into the wall, crushing the stag beetle with his body. Here also, the resourceful insect didn't admit defeat and bit viciously Skywarp in the neck, bearing once again the Jet former to his knees.

"Help! Somebody takes this thing out off me! PLEAASE!" he shrieked, trying to punch the hateful little bug, to no avail.

His desperate cries must have drawn the attention of someone. Shrapnel was suddenly removed from his back, shrieking awful curses in Cybertronian until something crushed his vocal component.

"And now, you crafty little so-and-so… do you still think you're clever?"

Skywarp looked up immediately, not surprise to see Megatron holding Shrapnel by the neck. Starscream was behind his leader and lover, his cocky smirk plastered on his face like back at the good old days.

"Warp'… did you bring the sarcophagus to a safe place?" his former Air Commander asked, walking to him to give him a hand.

"Ye… yeah."

"Good boy!" Starscream gave him a friendly hug, and then looked back at Megatron. "So… What do we do now with this little worm?" he asked in a seductive voice."I suggest torture… I have some nasty hypothesis to test on him!"

"I warn you… you! Stalkers are all around… around. They're going to kill you… you!"

The remark had the only effect to spark off the general hilarity of Megatron and his future bond mate.

"Where do you see a Stalker here, Shrapnel?" the Decepticon leader boomed holding up the stag beetle so that he could admire the slaughter. "They certainly have left once they saw you didn't have the sarcophagus any more. Admit defeat, looser; there are only your clones and my army here!"

Shrapnel covered with a horrified look the scene and started to wriggle and kick Megatron's arm.

"Let me go… go! Take your hand off me… me!"

"No way! Not before you order your mignons to stop fighting my men and surrender!" Megatron groaned, squeezing harder Shrapnel's neck.

"I can't… can't. Bombshell is the only one controlling their cerebro-shells… shells."

"Dammit, should have guessed it sooner!" Megatron shoved Shrapnel into Starcream's arms. "Shoot him down if he tries to escape! I have a bone to pick with Bombshell."

"Hey, no… wait!" Starscream shot the beetle down anyway, and handled his still body to Skywarp before running after his lover. "Wait! I'm coming with you!"

Skywarp stared at their retreating back, having some difficulties catching up with the flow of events, before dropping Shrapnel to the ground with a disgusted look on the face.

"Megatron… Megatron! Wait! I have important news to tell you!" he shrieked, running after the two Decepticon commander. He ran past them and stood in their way.

"What are you doing, Skywarp?" Megatron growled impatiently. I have a bombshell to quarter!"

"My Lord, it's… Galvatron. He left the Atlantis with Thanatron!" the Seeker explained, breathless.

Megatron's face darkened, his optics flashing in anger.

"What the slag are you talking about?"

**

* * *

Base 0025, Main Repair Bay**

"Is he going to be all right?" Skyfire asked anxiously.

Ratchet checked carefully Thundercracker's vitals on the medical equipment's monitor. The worries increased when the medical officer brushed his chin and took a dark look.

"He's in a light stasis," he informed. "I'll keep in this state a little longer, allowing his repair system to run full power. Once the basic repairs are done, I will lock him in a medical chamber, and it will be strictly forbidden for him to move or even stand to his feet. He played with fire by going in the forbidden area with his wounds half repaired. Now, he has to pay the consequences."

The shuttle former lowered his face ashamedly.

"It's my entire fault."

"Don't shift the blame on you. Thundercracker is old enough to assess the consequences of his own acts. He was the one who endangered his own life. He was lucky you were here to take the right decision beside him." Ratchet patted encouragingly Skyfire's forearm. "Stay with him if you want. According to Jazz's report, Megatron, his Decepticons and the rescue team are doing fine battling the Insecticons. They don't need you as much as Thundercracker needs you."

Skyfire nodded lightly, gazing at the unconscious Seeker with a worried look on the optics.

'_Poor guy, he's really in love with the fly boy,'_ the medic thought, walking aside to the next repair berth where lay Octane. Ratchet looked at the corner of the optics the other triple changer: two berths away from Octane, Astrotrain was performing repairs on his right arm._ 'It looks like the Decepticons open their warrior's mind and spark to the concept of compassion and love.'_

"Is he going to be fine?" the train-former asked, not leaving his optics of the torch welder and the exposed circuits.

"Do you know it's the fourth time you're asking me the question?"

Astrotrain outlined an amused smirk, but did not look up.

"You said he was not stabilized yet," he retorted. "So, I regularly update information about his functional status."

"I rather think you're deeply worrying about Octane. It explains why you so fiercely fought for his life, not hesitating to overthrow Megatron's orders and ask for reinforcement." Ratchet paused to link a new cable to Octane's chest. "I believed that Decepticons left behind the wounded warriors, because they were expandable."

The triple changer put the welder down the table close to the berth he sat on.

"Things have changed, starting with Megatron. He doesn't think we're expandable anymore, and cares about us. That made us think about our lives, how we had to behave on the battlefield, but also on the everyday life." Astrotrain closed the panel on his wrist, and then moved his arm to check if the repairs were efficient. "And yes, I'm worrying about Octane. You know, I first met him seven million years ago. Blitzwing and I taught him everything we knew about warfare, transforming the daydreaming wannabe scientist into a good war machine. So, seeing him wounded and on the verge of termination…" The triple changer gritted his teeth. "That revolts me."

Ratchet couldn't help but smiling. He had wished to listen to such words from a Decepticon for a very long time.

"Do not worry. Octane is blessed with a solid constitution. I'm sure he's going to make it."

"I hope so, medic, I hope so."

The medical officer left the triple changer to his repair and walked to the berth where another important patient was still resting.

"Optimus? How do you feel, now?" Ratchet asked, lowering his voice to avoid startling the mech.

A weak glow appeared in the Prime's optics.

"Where is Rodimus? Is he going to make it?"

"Don't worry Prime. Rodimus has already left the repair bay and is now resting in his quarters. His wounds were only superficial."

"Ah." The deem light in Optimus Prime's optics disappeared, but Ratchet knew that the Autobot leader was still online. "And what about the operation led by Megatron?"

"It is not finished yet, but Jazz told me that the Decepticons and the Autobot rescue team are getting the upper hand. The sarcophagus has been retrieved and is now kept in a safe place."

"I see. Megatron is a good leader after all. Better than I, perhaps."

Ratchet was shocked to hear such a comment from Optimus. It seemed that the Insecticons' shot had damaged more than circuits in the Autobot leader's body. It has also destroyed his self-confidence.

"You shouldn't say such a thing. Stop torturing you with such a thought. Rest and come to us as the good leader you have always been," Ratchet murmured to his audios.

To his relief, Optimus Prime didn't add any depressing comment and fell into recharge.

**

* * *

Base 0025, the Forbidden Area**

Despite his reopened wound, Megatron landed heavily in front of a squad of Insecticons, shouting down two of them and grabbing two others, tearing them into pieces with his bare hands. He grabbed the fifth one, Kickback clone, and held him up, squeezing hard his neck.

"Where is Bombshell?" he groaned threateningly. "Talk… or die!"

Deprived of the gift of talking, the unfortunate bug beeped in panic until the warlord, bored with his indecipherable explanation, broke his neck.

"Megatron!" Starscream landed just next to him, seizing the warlord's bleeding arm with worry. "Don't expose yourself to the enemy shots. You're wounded."

"We have to find Bombshell, Starscream. " Megatron retorted, ignoring the attentions of his lover. "Spread the words… we have to hunt out this disgusting little worm. The clones will be ours once we destroy the hold of Bombshell over them!"

"Yes, I radioed the others about that. But, please… Megatron, take cover!" The Seeker tried to pull back the massive body of his future bond mate, but was not so much successful. "Please, Megatron. Do it for me!"

Starscream must have put all his worries in his voice, because it finally reached his audios and attracted his attention. He smiled lightly at his Seeker, brushing his cheeks with dark fingers, before finally following him in a trench.

O

"Where is he?" Blitzwing emphasized his question by crushing harder Kickback against the wall. "Don't make me repeat my question! Where is Bombshell?"

"Don't count on me to tell you!" spat back the Insecticons, transforming to his grasshopper mode. Using his powerful hind legs, he forced Blitzwing to step back. "Did you really think you could keep me prisoner, hum?"

"That's the general idea!"

Blitzwing seized the grasshopper by the forelegs and the neck, crushing it against his own powerful body. Some of his chest panels bent went Kickback's hind legs were crushed against him, but his sturdy constitution allowed him to resist to the pressure. The Insecticons was not so fortunate: his legs finally broke, leaving him at the mercy of the triple changer's vice-like grip.

"Stooop, please!" Kickback finally shrieked when his whole structure threatened to shatter into pieces. "Let me down!"

"As you wish!" Blitzwing loosened his grip, allowing the broken body to fall down. He smashed his foot into Kickback's back as the grasshopper tried to crawl away thanks to his few operational limbs. "But you're not going anywhere around… Where is Bombshell?"

"I… I don't know. I didn't see him in the battlefield. He must have escaped after the sarcophagus disappeared." The Insecticon squirmed pathetically in the dust. "Please, don't kill me. I swear I will be a nice bot from now on!"

O

From his hideout in a ledge of the ceiling, Bombshell watched with disgust Kickback begging for his life, clinging with a disturbing fervor at Blitzwing's legs. He couldn't count on him anymore. It was the same with Shrapnel, who lay at the other side of the termitarium, locked in stasis mode. He was the last of his kind still standing.

"Last… But not least!" he chuckled to himself, staring at the two Transformers who were hiding in the trench, just below him. He aimed his rifle at the silver white head with a delicious excitement. "So long, Megatron. You won't even understand what hit you!"

He pulled half the trigger, and then ceased to process anything as a powerful shot hit him in the back, pulverizing the lower part of his body and the ledge. He went flying across the termitarium and finally crashed in the trench, not far away from Megatron and Starscream.

O

The two Decepticons startled when the explosion shook the walls of the trench, immediately followed by a shrill cry as Bombshell's body flew in ellipsis before crashing almost at their feet. Megatron and Starscream looked at each other blankly before focusing back on the damaged Insecticon. Bombshell managed to raise his chin and gazed into space with his cracked optics.

"I'm slagged," he said before falling into stasis, definitely knocked out.

Bombshell being unconscious, all the clones froze in motion, awaiting for orders that wouldn't come anymore. Still at the heart of action, some of the Dinobots and the Autobots continued to bash Insecticons before realizing that their opponents were unresponsive. Slowly, silence fell on the termitarium, more harrowing than all the cries and laser shots that had filled the place. And all the optics were set on the two tall figures that stood on the small promontory, close to the trench where Megatron and Starscream were.

The warlord also was silent, just sliding an arm around Starscream's waist to keep the Seeker under his control. But the fiery Jet former was to dumbfounded to lip at his enemy, gazing vacantly at the smoking fusion cannon attached to Thanatron's right arm. Galvatron stood beside him, arms folded on his chest, a satisfied smirk plastered on his face.

"Bombshell was just above us. He could have shot us in the back," Starscream murmured, hardly processing reality. "Thanatron shot him down… He saved us?"

Still unmoving, Megatron fixed his optics upon his son; a smile slowly appeared on his face as he nodded to his heir.

"Mwaaah! Watch your back, brother!" Galvatron burst out laughing, obviously savoring the trouble of Megatron and Starscream. "Without Thanatron, you would be like Bombshell," he added, looking out of the corner of his optics at the knocked out Insecticon. "A piece of slag."

Megatron's lips components parted, but he was unable to say a word. Instead, he tightened his grip around Starscream, holding him gently, while his optics didn't leave Thanatron's face. There was a light smile playing on his son's lips, he thought. His spark tingled in his chest, as he pondered that he had never been so closed to have a family.

**

* * *

Vessel Makahara of the Empire of Salonia**

"Thanatron… How dare you betraying me this way?" Nyxerys exclaimed, not taking her optics off the image of her son. "After all I've done for you… all the sacrifices… You just stab me in the back and choose to follow your ignominious father!"

Her claws scratched the armrest, leaving deep gashes in the metal. She looked dagger at the screen, gritting her teeth when she saw the Decepticon leader walking to his son and giving him a hug under the stare of his brother and his lover. The scene was purely disgusting.

"I swear, Megatron, you'll pay for taking away my son!" she groaned, firing the small gun she had on her wrist at the screen, which exploded in tiny parts of metal and glass.

Nyxerys remained on her throne, trying to quell the seething anger that threatened to roast her brain circuits and smash her spark. Fortunately, unexpected news reached her audios.

"Commander Nyxerys, I'm sorry to disturb you," Elita-One whispered as she bowed deeply before her. "Lord Kraken and Lord Dark Nebula have arrived and would like to have an audience with you."

The Femme glared at her servant, hesitating between shooting her or venting all her resentment. However, she couldn't let herself slide before her two lieutenants. Despite the fact they were her accomplices, both Dark Nebula and Kraken were ambitious, and wouldn't hesitate taking advantage from her weakness to strengthen their positions.

"Tell them to come," she reluctantly ordered.

Elita-One bowed again and left, before coming back with two dark Transformers. Nyxerys glared at the two visitors, forced to the conclusion that they haven't changed during the years they hadn't met. Kraken was the larger of the two, reminding her of Thanatron: built as a gladiator and a tank-former, he could have been the personification of raw strength and wild power. Megatron and Galvatron had never had the misfortune to fight him directly, but Nyxerys was sure that Kraken would cause them troubles. Besides, Prima Destroyer's son was hungry for revenge, and wouldn't leave the battlefield without killing the murderers of his father, even at the cost of his own life.

At his side, Dark Nebula looked almost tiny and fragile. Originally created as a neutral scientist, he looked physically unattractive, especially when Kraken stood by his side. His deceptive look fooled many of his enemies, hiding a Machiavellian mind and plotting nature. Dark Nebula was one of the most dangerous sentient being that Nyxerys had to bump into: he knew no bounds, no morale and no remorse. He had been the one suggesting the destruction of Cybertron to collect the energy, and had created the star virus, condemning to a horrible death hundreds of mechs of his kind. More than Kraken's brutality, Nyxerys secretly dreaded Dark Nebula's twisted intelligence and lack of morale.

"What's going on, Dark Racer, or should I say, Commander Nyxeris. You seem… frustrated," the scientist noticed in dulcet tones.

The Femme Commander outlined a grimace, but stayed quiet, not willing to share her disappointment with her two visitors. She dismissed Elita-One with a wave of the hand, feeling that her two accomplices wouldn't play nice with her.

"Where is Thanatron?" asked Kraken in his deep and rich voice. A seductive smirk appeared on his well-sculpted lip-components while his red optics flashed mischievously. "Still prisoner of his father, hum? Or… maybe worse?"

Once again, Kraken had broken the camel's back. Furious, Nyxerys fired at him with her hidden blaster, to no avail. The dark warrior didn't even stiffened when the shot tore through his heavily armor-plated shoulder.

"Shut up!"

"Why, because I've hit the nail in the head?" Kraken chuckled darkly. "Don't tell me you didn't see it coming! That was so obvious, Thanatron doubted you and would turn to his father, sooner or later!" He brushed lightly the small crater caused by the laser shot. "Don't you remember the many times he asked you questions about Megatron, almost in a voice of regret? Have you forgotten the day you sent him to destroy Megatron and his Decepticons? He wanted me to replace him, because deep inside, he knew he wouldn't have the will-power to kill his own father!" Kraken set his glowing crimson optics on the Femme, who had shrunk on her throne. "If you had sent me, Megatron and Starscream wouldn't be anything but memory!"

"Enough, Kraken… Don't you see that Nyxerys is in pain?"

The Commander shivered as the treacherous voice of Dark Nebula reached her audios. Far from putting her at ease, his support unsettled her. He was up to something…

"I don't care of Thanatron anymore," she hissed, forcing herself to show her strength. "He made a bad choice: he will have to bear the consequences. The unfortunate point is that Megatron now have the the emergency pod of High Commander Telorus in his possession. The Emperor will be furious once he knows it!"

"Perhaps… he's going to claim your head," Kraken completed, obviously amused.

Nyxerys gave him a nasty look. "You'd better suggest something clever instead of banking on my disgrace," she barked. "I drown, you drown as well!"

"People, we're not here to vent our spleen on each other. We have to wriggle our way out of a tricky situation," Dark Nebula said, scanning his audience. Nyxerys and Kraken nodded in response. "I think the best strategy is to lure Megatron and his Decepticons into a trap and put him to death."

"Nice scenario, but I don't see how you expect to put this into practice," the gladiator snared.

A sly smirk appeared on the light grey faceplate of the scientist.

"Let's propose Megatron a truce, and organize a summit meeting in a place where we can bring him at bay," Dark Nebula suggested. "Once Megatron and Galvatron are destroyed, I'm ready to bet that Optimus Prime and his resistance troops are going to fade away in a record time."

A devil smile graced Nyxerys' lips while Kraken's smirk grew wider.

"That sounds pretty exciting…" the tank former admitted. "But how do you plan to convince Megatron to follow you in this trap?"

"That's simple: by sending a messenger above all suspicion…"

Nyxerys burst out of laughing at the mere idea.

"I didn't know we had such a gem in our rank," she mocked.

"Indeed, we have such a gem," Dark Nebula retorted, hiding his growing annoyance. "I was thinking about Elita-One. Who can find a better ambassador than Prime's former bond mate?" he explained. "And I'm sure that confusion will overtake the commanding officers once they know that she is currently Thanatron's lover." An evil and lustful expression brightened his face. "Divide and rule, as Earthlings say."

**To be continued**


	34. Ch 34: Interlude Part 1

Thanks a lot to all readers who read and reviewed the chapter 33. I am a little late – as usual, but here is chapter 34. Enjoy it.

Many thanks to Krystalmaze for the editing of this chapter.

Warning: Slash scene Megatron / Starscream.

**

* * *

Chapter 34: Interlude (1)**

**Base 0025: Ratchet's medbay**

The CMO gave a start when an indistinct hubbub reached his audios. He increased their acuity, and detected cheers outside his medbay. He knew that the ongoing operations led by the Decepticons had been difficult, but was finally a complete success. He couldn't help wondering who was the origin or the subject of these cheers: Autobots cheering the Autobot warriors, or Autobots cheering the Decepticon leader and his men? He shivered at the last prospect.

The hubbub became clearer as the door opened on Megatron, supported by a radiant Starscream. Decepticons and Autobots alike, who continued to express loudly their admiration for the new hero of the base, surrounded him. He piped at Optimus Prime, still in recharge, before looking back at Megatron. The large Decepticon seemed completely indifferent towards the cheers, but perhaps, it came from the large wound open on his shoulder, which tainted in green his white paint job.

"I need repairs, Ratchet," the warlord curtly informed.

"Yes, please. Enter," The medic gestured at the berth, just next to Optimus Prime. Unfortunately, there was no other free. "You can lean on this one. I'll immediately prepare the equipment to repair this nasty wound." He then looked back at the warriors, who talked loudly at the entrance. "But your fans have to stay outside: we need calm here."

"Actually, they came also for repairs," Megatron replied, hoisting himself laboriously on the berth with the help of Starscream.

"Ah." Ratchet looked twice at the bots on the threshold, who were now silent. He recognized Blitzwing, who had some panels hanging lamely on the air. Dirge was not in a better shape, with his wings completely shred. And he stopped there, listing the injuries, and made a sweep of his packed medbay. "I think we have a problem."

He sighed and opened his comm.-link.

"Wheeljack, I need you to open a second medbay as soon as possible. We have a pack of injured warriors here."

At the other side of the link, Wheeljack chuckled, obviously more amused than panicked.

_I see, as usual._

"Yes, as usual." Ratchet sighed again, and turned to Megatron, who lay on the berth, under the good care of his Seeker. "It's always like this with you, isn't it?"

Megatron looked back at him and smirked proudly.

"Yes, it is always like this. We're Decepticons."

**

* * *

In the detention area of Base 0025**

Thanatron entered the cell without putting a fight; he even looked satisfied to be here. He turned his face to look over his shoulder at Galvatron.

"Don't worry, son, you won't stay here a long time. Your father and I will soon set you free from this place," the purple warlord assured, which owned him a glare from Springer.

"Don't be so sure, Decepticreep," the Triple Changer retorted, his voice dripping with anger. "You still have to explain why you set free the enemy and knocked me out!" he groaned.

Galvatron looked at him with evident scorn.

"I knocked you out because you annoyed me." His smirk grew evil. "But don't worry, I am ready to explain my act, and ridicule you a little more in front of the high-officers!"

"You…" Springer held up his riffle, and startled when Thanatron grabbed the barrel from the other side of the energon bar.

"You would upset me if you used this against him," he informed in a dangerous low growl.

Springer didn't hide his surprise until he realized he was losing his face in front of the two warlords. He drew back, snatching away his riffle from the strong grip.

"You're really sleeping with the enemy!" Springer groaned.

"No, I wouldn't sleep with Thanatron for the good reason he is my nephew!" Galvatron chuckled darkly and grabbed Springer by the wrist, dragging him away from the cell. "Come on, Autobot. You want me to explain myself with Shockwave. I'm ready to do it, but you will have to listen to it as well!"

Springer tried to break free from the strong grip, to no avail. In a record time, they were out of sight from Thanatron's cell.

The Salonian general sat down in his cell, a genuine smile gracing his lips as he remembered his encounter with his father. After his surprise had faded away, Megatron had asked Starscream to help him walk to him. Oh sure, the optics of the Seeker had burned red with an incredible anger when looking at him. In Megatron's optics, he had read pride and joy. Thanatron himself had been too shocked to make a move, and had thought his spark would explode in his chest when his father had set a hand on his shoulder.

"_Good work, son."_

Thanatron closed his optics and replayed the scene again his memory bank. It was really heartening, this recognition from the father he had hated so long but had always craved the attentions. Besides, it was worth being considered a traitor by the mother who had lied to him during millions years.

"I hate you, mother."

**

* * *

In the commanding room**

Shockwave and Jazz were standing side by side, as stiff as poles behind a large desk.

"Don't look at me with such a constipated look!" mocked Galvatron as he entered, dragging along a very reticent Springer. "So, you wanted to see me, uh?"

"Yes, and you know very well the reason, I guess," informed Jazz, his voice betraying his anger.

"I was not speaking to you, but to the only one matching my position of Base Commander here," Galvatron snapped, glaring at the single-eyed Transformer. "Tell me, Shockwave… What are your grievances about the last operation?"

"You have to explain me why you took General Thanatron away from Springer's watch by knocking him out."

Galvatron waved in annoyance at the question.

"Two things: first of all, you have to know that the General is nobody else but Megatron's natural son…"

Jazz gaped open from the news, and certainly, Shockwave would have shown his bewilderment the same way if he had a mouth. Galvatron smirked at the idea and finally burst into his maniacal laughter.

"You are lying to save your aft," Springer growled, refusing to believe the warlord.

Galvatron glared back at him before adding condescendingly.

"You're not high-ranked enough to call me a liar. Watch your words, Springer!" he scoffed before looking back at the two robots, who were still under the surprise. "I'm telling the truth. Thanatron and Megatron are son and father."

"Then… your fault is even greater," Jazz managed to stutter. "This familial link makes Thanatron a highly precious prisoner."

Galvatron rolled his optics with a loud sigh before focusing back on Shockwave.

"I spent a very long time explaining to Thanatron who his father really was, how we came to get rid of his mother and gave him a full background about our family. He thus discovered he had led a life of lies thanks to his dear mother, who had completely distorted the truth about Megatron."

"You did it using a secret comm.-link with him while we were in watch duty!" Springer growled before throwing an angry look at Shockwave. "My lord, this is treason!"

Galvatron glared at him in despise.

"You're really starting to get on my nerve, little upstart. This is the last warning you get." He chuckled darkly when Springer showed openly his outrage and continued: "At this point, Thanatron was still hesitating switching sides. I knew he needed a confrontation with his father to choose his allegiance. This was point two of my strategy to have Thanatron working with us, and it worked. He didn't hesitate a second and shot down Bombshell to save his father!"

"Your strategy might have borne fruit, but still, you freed a dangerous prisoner and brought him on the battlefield," Shockwave retorted eruditely. "What if he had escaped and joined the enemy?"

Galvatron stood less than a meter from the Cyclops, and stared at his single optic in amusement.

"I would have shot him down," he purred.

"Your own nephew?"

"Eh Eh? Haven't I shot down my own brother, already?" Galvatron chuckled and sent a knowing look at the former Decepticon. "I would shoot down my own creator if it enabled me to succeed in my plan."

"I am very aware of this point," Shockwave retorted coldly, not impressed by Galvatron's acting. "Still, you went on the battlefield with a prisoner you had freed using violence, despite the fact Thanatron was a precious asset for us. You deserve a punishment."

The satisfied smirk plastered on Galvatron's face faded away as he clenched his mandetta, furious. He glared intensely at Jazz, who stopped nodding approvingly and lowered his face.

"You'd better be quick, Shockwave. I have lost enough time with you, already," he hissed.

"You will be suspended during 24 hours."

Both Springer and Jazz looked with a bewildered air while Galvatron laughed maniacally.

"But… Sir… why?"

Shockwave looked down at Jazz and nodded lightly.

"I will explain you later." He then shot a glare at the laughing mech. "It is obvious that in case of attack or crisis, this sentence will be immediately lifted."

"Mwaah! Shockwave, I see that you know where your allegiance lies!"

"Get out!"

Galvatron complied after bowing deeply to the Cyclopean Transformer.

"I'm off, your Lordship!"

Jazz waited that the obnoxious warlord left, ridding the room of his displeasing presence, to ask again his question.

"Why punish him so lightly? His actions could have had disastrous effects on the war for us!"

"I know, Jazz, I know. It's unfair." Shockwave's voice was husky with emotion. "However, with Prime unable to fulfill his function of leader, Megatron and Galvatron are the most powerful and capable mechs of this base. We need them."

"My Lord… but you are also powerful and capable," Springer retorted.

Shockwave lowered his big angular head component.

"Not enough to preserve this base or win the war, I am afraid." He remained silent a long minute. "What about the Insecticons?" he asked, switching to a new important subject.

"Wheeljack put Shrapnel, Bombshell and Kickback into stasis mode. They will stay in artificial recharge until Ratchet finds some time to repair them," Jazz informed.

"And for the swarm?"

"We put them into a hangar, under a tight watch. However, the risk that they try to escape or retaliate is quite low: without the three main Insecticons, they are empty shells deprived of a will."

Shockwave nodded and turned around to face the window, overlooking the sea. The sun was starting to dress up in red to slump onto the ocean.

"Very good. We have to keep control over them: the Insecticons are also strong assets to put down the enemy."

**

* * *

Ratchet's medbay **

"Wait a few minutes, I have to tend Starscream's wings," Ratchet informed the Decepticon warlord while pushing the Seeker away.

"No… I can wait. It is only minor wounds on my flight sensors," Starscream complained, trying to clutch at Megatron's repair berth. "I want to stay with him."

"Starscream, do as he says. Wounds to Seeker's wings are not to be underrated: it might be harmful," Megatron groaned, squeezing lightly a blue hand. "Please, love. Don't argue with this."

Starscream made the so characteristic pout that he was the only one able to do, and leaned over the large frame to kiss his lips gently. He then followed the medic, complaining about this mishap.

"I see that Starscream and you are still strongly united despite all the battles and past events."

Megatron's optics flashed in surprise as he recognized the voice frequency of his old nemesis. He turned his head to look at Optimus Prime's face, noticing the absence of glow in his optics.

"I believed you were deactivated."

"Almost… I indeed came within a hair's breadth of deactivation. I guess that Primus decided it was not yet my time," the Autobot replied and then lowered his voice to be sure the conversation won't be heard by onlookers. "Or that you couldn't be left in charge of this base without a chaperon to watch over you."

The tirade drew an amused chuckle from Megatron.

"You don't look in a condition to watch over me, Prime. Face reality: I'm becoming the Number One bot of this base, the commander that Decepticons and the Autobots alike are ready to follow. You are no more indispensable."

The blue optics of Optimus Prime flickered to life and set on Megatron. The warlord saw perfectly that this old flame of courage, strength and leadership still burnt in there.

"I make you a promise: if you turn back to the wrong side of the fence, I'll be there to beat you down and bring you back to the right side.

A nervous chuckle escaped Megatron as he forced an evil smirk to appear on his face.

"Make me!"

Tired with this unexpected conversation and the belligerent words of Prime, Megatron decided to leave his berth. Besides, he had an important favor to ask to the C.M.O.

O

Optimus Prime powered down his optics, feeling dry of energy. He had put all his strength in this short conversation, sending an open warning to the triumphant Decepticon warlord. There was nothing more than dangerous than a Megatron full with self-confidence and experiencing success.

O

Megatron easily found Ratchet and Starscream in the second maydbay. The CMO gave orders to his assistants, explaining how Starscream's wing sensors had to be replaced and stopped when he saw Megatron standing near the medical equipments.

"What are you doing here? You shouldn't be standing so early. Go back to your berth!" the medic protested.

"Beg my pardon, but I was not amused with my neighbor," Megatron flatly replied and made a knowing look. "It looks like Prime's ego is hurt by my successive victories."

"I don't think so." The CMO lowered his optics, obviously shared between defending Prime's honor and avoiding taking provocative side. "You really should go back to your berth."

"I will. However, I first have something important to ask you. A special surgical operation to perform. Is there a place we can speak… alone?"

"Ah, yes… please, follow me."

O

Deeply intrigued by Megatron's request, Ratchet led him to the small office where he spent his free time. The place was so packed with data pad and experimental medical equipments that Ratchet briefly wondered if Megatron's massive frame would fit in. Indeed, the top of Megatron's helmet almost brushed the ceiling, and his broad wings grazed the walls.

"Very well… You have all my attention."

Megatron extracted a small component from a subspace in his right arm, which he held to the CMO. Ratchet immediately recognized the nature of this cylinder device and stared blankly at Megatron.

"But… it's a spark interface component. Where does it come from?"

"It is mine, the one set in my spark chamber being the one of… my previous bondmate. He died million years ago, when I was still a gladiator." Megatron took a soft expression that Ratchet had never seen before. "I plan to bond with Starscream tomorrow evening, but I don't want him to know that there has been someone else before him. I know it would be too much for him to take."

"No, please, don't tell me you want me to…"

"Yes, I want you to fix my spark interface component back to my spark chamber, as if it has never been removed. This way, during the ceremony, when we will exchange these components as symbol of our commitment, he will see nothing."

"This is unfair… and against the bonding rules."

Ratchet was truly shocked, but his surprise increased when Megatron's hand shot around his neck.

"Listen to me carefully, Ratchet. How do you think Starscream is going to react once he knows I have already been bonded in the past? He's going to snap… perhaps become crazy, or his mental confusion will worsen. It is a risk I am not ready to take."

Although he didn't like the violence that Megatron used to force him doing this surgery, he had to agree with him about Starscream The Seeker was far from being a mentally balanced mech, and the news could lead to a real disaster. He nodded, almost grudgingly.

"Fair enough, I'll dot it. When are you ready for this ?"

Megatron's optics flashed bright red.

"As soon as possible, and preferably, before tonight."

**

* * *

In another part of the base**

The ninja robot stopped halfway to her quarters: she was now sure that somebody followed her in this hallway. It had started by barely perceptible footsteps, which had become more audible by the minutes. Nightbird finally got upset and took her nunchaku, throwing them in the hope to hit the impudent who dared stalking her. The nunchaku wound up around the wrist of the mech, who unveiled from the shadows.

"Cyclonus?" Nightbird let out an amused laugh. "What are you doing here, bunny head?"

"Don't call me like this, femme. I am a high officer: you owe me respect."

This declaration triggered Nightbird's general hilarity. Not that she found his reaction funny: she just knew it would pissed off the Decepticon. For a reason she barely understood, a great part of her wanted to tackle him.

"Well, I guess you will have to remind me good manners", she purred deviously.

Cyclonus' face tensed up, but his first reply to this provocation was to unwrap the nunchaku from his wrist and to throw it back to Nightbird.

"If I were you, I wouldn't push my luck too far, femme. You already are in the hot seat, if you see what I mean."

The ninja screwed up her optics, wondering briefly what he did mean. Suddenly, she was beset by a horrible doubt: did Cyclonus know about her little game with Starscream's antidote? In this case, she was really in danger.

"I don't know what you are talking about," she replied, convinced that her better way to stand up was to lie. "You'd better leave me alone if you don't want me to file a complaint to Rodimus Prime."

That was the turn of Cyclonus to chuckle.

"Stop playing around, lady. I don't like to dance," he warned, advancing on her. "You made a bad move, time to pay!"

At this point, Nightbird understood that there would be no other way to save herself, other than to fight the spacecraft former. Fair enough: after all, a crazy part of her craved for a good sparing session with Galvatron's second in command.

"So, you want to do it the hard way? Perfect: you will have it the hard way", she purred, unsheathing the blade she held in her back.

Cyclonus' face took a savage expression before he took his guard. Nightbird was the first to attack, slamming here blade down with strength and speed. Not quickly enough, though, as Cyclonus jumped aside and avoided the blade that could have cut sharp his right shoulder. She stroked a second time, but again, Cyclonus was swift enough to escape the bite of her weapon. Enthralled by the excellence of her opponent, Nightbird started to perform more acrobatic attacks, one of them being more fruitful than the others when she managed to draw a deep gash in Cyclonus' mid-section. The Decepticons stepped back, growling in frustration.

"Tell me, high-officer… already tired?" Nightbird mocked. "A tall and powerful mech like you?"

Cyclonus flashed his optics, seething in anger facing with so much provocation.

"You're playing with fire, femme. You're going to burn your hands," he warned in a low and dangerous voice that set her excitement at its highest level.

"Then… Burn me!"

Cyclonus obliged eagerly, charging at her with all his strength. He didn't try to dodge her blade, which dug in his left shoulder, and tackled her to the ground, pinning her arms above her head.

"You emptied Starscream's medication, putting him in a great danger. That's for this crime that I am here to punish you!"

"Because you think you can punish me?"

Using her strength, she managed to make them roll and shifted their position, Cyclonus being now beneath her. Taking advantage of his surprise, she pulled her blade out his shoulder and placed the edge against his throat. Arching her back, she enjoyed her dominant position on top of the powerful mech, setting her hand on his cockpit.

"Tell me, Decepticon. How does it feel to be on the bottom, hum?" she purred, caressing lightly his mid-section, where the wound poured some energon. "Do you enjoy it?"

"Not as much as you're going to enjoy this!"

The punch came fast – too fast to avoid it – and powerful, propelling Nightbird backwards and leaving her completely dazed. She struggled to keep online, and felt a foot flattening her back when she tried to come to her all fours. Finally, strong hands lifted her from the ground and turned her around to face the angry optics of Cyclonus.

"I see that Ratchet had even built you a proper faceplate," the Decepticon sniggered, removing the shattered mouth mask. "Know listen, pathetic femme: I consider this punishment over, but I warn you, don't go near Megatron or Starscream anymore."

Nightbird tilted her head back to better look at the two red suns that glared at her.

"Or what?"

"Or I will really hurt you. As I said, I don't like to dance."

He shook her harshly as she took her time to reply.

"I understood," she finally said, feeling her brain circuits starting to hurt.

"Great." He let her fall to the ground unceremoniously and turned his back to her. "You'd better not find me on your way again!"

The shuttle former walked away, not throwing a look back at her. Nightbird stayed almost an hour where she lay before managing to kneel on her knees. She leant against the wall and laughed mockingly, realizing how much she had liked fighting against him, whether she had been on the top or on the bottom.

"Oh… I think you will find _me_ on _your_ way, _High Officer_," she purred.

**

* * *

Vessel Makahara, of the Empire of Salonia**

Elita-One entered apprehensively the command room. It had never been good to be summoned by Commander Nyxerys, but since the fateful day Thanatron had been taken prisoner, it had become synonym to suicide. Nyxerys was in full mood, which implied cries, anger and shots in the back.

Against all expectations, the high Commander was rather calm when she beckoned the pink femme to come closer to her throne.

"I will go straight to the point," Nyxerys informed. "I pondered about the last developments of the war against the base 0025, and came to the conclusion that we are misled by our rivalry."

Elita-One blinked, not really understanding what the point of the dark femme was.

"Yes, mistress?"

Nyxerys smiled deviously, certainly aware of Elita's confusion.

"In other words, I would like to call for a truce with Optimus Prime and Megatron, in order to initiate negotiations to retrieve Thanatron."

Elita-One couldn't suppress a whimper as she heard the names of her former lover and her future bondmate. It was somehow disturbing to think that the two mechs that counted the most in her life were mortal enemies.

"For this, I need an ambassador to show my good faith: a person that the two base commanders are ready to trust and listen to." Nyxerys outlined a devious smile that contrasted sharply with her words. "It is why I have decided to send you."

"Me?" Elita-One stood up, looking lost and confused. "I don't think it is a good idea."

"Quite the opposite… You are the most qualified to negotiate the truce. Without a doubt, Optimus Prime will trust you, and your presence will put Thanatron at ease."

Elita-One lowered her face, tormented by paradoxical feelings. It seemed so pervert to face Optimus just in order to claim Thanatron's freedom. However, in another way, she terribly wanted to meet the Autobot leader again, and explain him her choice. Shame wasn't far away when she finally took her decision.

"Alright, I will do it," she finally said.

"Perfect. Your first mission will be to establish communication with the leaders of the base, and then, to convince them to come to a summit meeting in a place that I will indicate you later." Nyxerys gave her a cheerful smile. "You can withdraw."

Elita-One bowed deeply before leaving, grateful that this meeting ended. But she wasn't done with the feeling of guilt that now plagued her mind.

O

Nyxerys watched with satisfaction the pink female retire, and poured some new energon in her cube.

"Revenge is on its way…," she purred with a grin.

**

* * *

Base 0025, Megatron and Starscream's quarters**

Megatron peeped at his future bondmate and gave a smile when the beautiful Seeker puffed his chest in a seductive manner, well aware that the optics of the warlord were set on him. It was just what he needed to relax and forget all the battles and stressful events of the past few days.

"How do you feel, my lord? Did the medic repair you well?" Starscream seductively asked, obviously awaiting a favourable answer. He waddled to Megatron and traced the edge of his cockpit with a blue hand. "I am terribly worried about your health."

"I see, indeed, that you're anxious," the Decepticon leader replied, stroking gently his right wing, noticing the unusual heat it released.

"Don't you want to reassure me, then?"

The desire was clearly audible in Starscream's voice, which trembled. The Seeker wanted to be possessed, ravished by the One he had chosen to be is bond mate. Megatron was of course happy to indulge. He lowered his face, brushing his lips against the dark lip components of the Seeker, and ran his fingers across his face, then down his throat and shoulders. His hand stopped on his right air-vent, inquisitive fingers playing shamelessly with the fans. The slender body in his arms quivered while a faint moan escaped the Seeker's vocalizer.

Megatron's hand abandoned the air-vent, in search of smooth silver grey metal. Yes, one of the wings of this enticing flier! Under his palm, sensors crackled with overcharged electricity, alive with sensation. Megatron outlined a smile as he felt Starscream grabbing his shoulder in support to his buckling knees.

Encouraged by his partner's reaction and thrilled by his own growing lust, Megatron decided to jump to the main event a little quicker than expected. He spun on his heels to have Starscream back to his berth, and pushed him down. The Seeker fell backward on the large berth, giving out a cry when his warm wings collided with the cool metal. He looked up at Megatron, not daring a gesture.

"Feeling warm?" Megatron asked joyfully.

"Not enough to my taste…" the Seeker whined, not even trying to hide his arousal. "You have to look more after me!"

Megatron smirked lustfully, aroused by the provocation. He reached the Seeker's throat and bit viciously an energon supply pipe, sucking the precious liquid with a ferrous appetite. His hands roamed over the Seeker's chest, not leaving an inch of the metal or his cockpit inviolate. Once the moans of Starscream left no doubt about his mood, Megatron sat up and reached the crotch of his future bond mate to open a panel, revealing the interface unit of Starscream. He equally removed the glass cockpit and the navigation equipments, exposing the pulsing spark of the flier.

Starscream replied by a cycling of his chest vent, pathetic evidence that he was no more in control of his senses. Luscious ideas crossed the overheating CPU of the Decepticon leader, and he smiled enticingly at his partner. His lips worshiped once again the jaw line of the Seeker, trailing hot kisses down his throat, chest and vents, skirting the open cavity and the glittering spark to settle down the canopy. Starscream panted as the Decepticon leader kissed the join between his upper leg and his hips, obviously looking through is intention. Megatron outlined a ferocious smile before teasing with his glossa the socket, while stroking gently the plug. He grabbed firmly the hips of Starscream before it crashed powerfully under his face, and deepened his exploration. The shrill and erratic cries of pleasure pushed by the Seeker comforted him in the fact that his future bond mate did appreciate the attention. He stopped only when Starscream clutched so hard at his helmet that he saw stars during a few nanoclicks.

"And now, is it better," he chuckled, replacing his glossa by inquisitive fingers.

He shifted his position to reach the open chest and stared at the glowing spark, noticing that the colour had moved from a pale pink to a glowing purple.

"Your… try is… hum! Interesting…but…you need to… improve…though…" Starscream unconvincingly retorted before moaning loudly his pleasure.

"You're a hypocrite!"

"Hum… yes!"

Decided to jump to the main event as quickly as possible, Megatron exposed his own interface unit to the foggy optics of the Seeker and buried himself into Starscream's warm tightness, immediately concentrating his spark energy, shooting a bolt of electricity through the connection.

"Aaaah!"

Starscream shrieked as loud as he could, his body twisting beneath Megatron. Satisfied by the result, Megatron sent another wave of electricity, enjoying the way Starscream cried in pleasure and arched his back, tossing his head aside.

"No more… Please. I can't… hold it back!" he panted.

The Decepticon leader silenced the pleas of the Seeker with a hungry kiss. The power core of Starscream was literally burning, ready to explode. He pressed his own spark against the nova, shuddering when the two power cores merged in a unique entity. All the thoughts, sensations and memories of Starscream were readable as an open book; nothing could be hidden to him. Megatron was plunged in a universe of colours and sounds, feeling the Seeker all around him. Starscream was certainly experiencing the same overflow of sensations, shuddering deliciously under his weight.

They were connected, sharing energy, data and feeling at the highest-level allowed to sentient beings. Megatron shot another wave of energy, reinforcing the blast by a strong thrust of his hips. The feedback crushed their merged sparks, causing the two robots to clutch at each other with incredible strength.

Then, energy exploded, burning their bodies and minds.

O

When Megatron's system rebooted, he was still covering an offline Starscream with his body. The Seeker's arms were snaked around his neck and shoulders, as frozen in eternity. Their sparks had come back to their individuality, pulsing gently against each other. Megatron kissed gently the Seeker as to awake him. Red optics flickered to life, and a gentle smile appeared on Starscream's dark face.

"You are the only one making me feel like this," he admitted, kissing gently the white shuttle former.

"And so do you for me."

They shared a long kiss, forgetting time and space. Megatron pulled out reluctantly, gazing vacantly at the beautiful face beneath him. He caressed the smooth metal, tracing the dark line of his cheek with ravishment. Starscream seemed to be very close to entering recharge, but suddenly, his expression changed and he looked frankly worried.

"What's going on, love? What's wrong?"

"Thanatron… You're going to see him, right?" Starscream looked frankly upset. "You're going to forgive him everything he has done to me, aren't you?"

"Starscream." Megatron posed, sorting out his words carefully. "He is my son. I don't forgive him everything he had plotted to separate us, the way he twisted you, but I can't close my door neither. I don't ask you to get along with him, but to understand I can't let him down." He took Starscream's chin, and forced him to look at him in the optics. "That doesn't mean I want to replace you by him. Do you understand this?"

Starscream nodded, looking a little more secure but still expressing worries.

"Good, because I want to bond officially with you tomorrow evening. I already asked Ratchet to make the necessary preparations." The warlord kissed again the Seeker on the lips. "You agree with the ceremony, don't you?"

Starscream nodded again, a smile starting to appear on his dark face.

"Yes, of course… I am eager to become officially yours."

Now relaxed and forgetting somehow his worries about Thanatron, Starscream let Megatron cuddle him until recharge claimed him. He would certainly remember nothing of this conversation at his wake.

**To be continued**


	35. Ch 35:Interlude Part 2

**I have been a little rushed lately. Anyway, chapter 35 is ready. Many thanks to Krystalmaze for the editing.**

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* * *

  
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**Chapter 35: Interlude (2)**

**Rodimus Prime's quarters**

Arcee hesitated to announce that she was standing in front of his quarters. Jazz had told her that Rodimus had been injured during the operation against the Insecticons, and the fact that he hadn't come to see her or left his quarters since his return from the medbay indicated that the shock was harder to overcome than expected.

"Rodimus, I know you are here!" she called through the intercom. "Please, open up!"

_ I am sorry, Arcee, but I am a kind of busy right now _came the laconic answer.

"Busy... with what?" she thought, a little vexed that her boyfriend refused to see her. However, she was determined to have a conversation with him, and wouldn't leave until she got satisfaction.

"Rodimus, we need to talk! I'm not going to leave without―"

The door slid open on the young lieutenant. Arcee noticed that he looked slightly overworked, but other than that, he seemed to be fine.

"Why are you locking yourself in your quarters?" she asked. "I thought you would be happy to see me coming to your base!" she added, a little annoyed.

"I was pondering about my last failure," he simply responded, not offering her to come in.

"That was not a failure: Optimus and you are still alive, and Megatron managed to stop the Insecticons," Arcee retorted, trying to push through but Rodimus refused to give ground.

"That is the problem: Megatron. He is becoming the ruler of this base. If Optimus Prime doesn't recover quickly, we will have a new master, and it will be this tyrant."

Arcee stared at him in surprise as she failed to understand the real reason of his seclusion.

"Is it the real reason why you refuse to go outside your quarters?" she asked.

"I feel guilty: if I had been a better warrior, Optimus Prime wouldn't be welded to a repair berth and Megatron wouldn't be on the way to recovering all his power."

"You know, it is useless to blame yourself. It is not your fault if he had been injured, and anyway, it won't help him to recover," she lectured him before holding his hand. "Come with me, let's have a walk in the base. I am sure it is going to brighten up your mind."

Rodimus Prime stared at her and finally lowered his head, looking aside.

"Sorry, I need some time alone," he said.

"No, wait!" Arcee protested, to no avail.

The door closed on Rodimus Prime, leaving Arcee on the threshold, shared between stupor and anger.

"_How dare he…!?" _

**

* * *

Base 0025, in a spare meeting room**

"Shockwave suspended you for a duration of 24 hours?!" Cyclonus exclaimed indignantly. "How dare he take disciplinary sanctions against you while you stroke a decisive blow on the Insecticons by bringing Thanatron in the fight?"

Galvatron chuckled considering the passionate reaction of his most faithful lieutenant. Since the day he had spared Cyclonus in the arena and had taken this skillful shuttle former as an apprentice and consequently, as second in command, he had never regretted it. He had sometimes feared that Cyclonus started to develop the same twisted love for him as Starscream had developed for Megatron, but it wasn't the case. Cyclonus was a true warrior, this rare kind of Decepticon who dedicated their life for the cause and their master, period. On this point, he was more comparable to Soundwave rather than this little fool of Starscream.

"I rather take this as a timid diplomatic gesture from Shockwave to show us that he still is a Decepticon in a way." Galvatron smirked, hiding the fact he was not sure of what he assessed. "Or at least, he wanted to acknowledge our dominant position in the base… We, Megatron and I, can't be punished given that we are the only commanders able to protect this base," he proudly stated.

"To deny this fact would be foolish of the Autobots!"

Galvatron nodded appreciatively. He had always liked praises coming from Cyclonus, because they were not praises; they were sincere acknowledgement of his power.

"What is the status of the Decepticon troops?" the warlord asked.

"They all have left the repair bay by now, to the exception of Octane, who needs additional repairs. Thundercracker is the only one still assigned to his quarters, but he should be allowed to leave it for the bonding ceremony tonight."

"What about the Insecticons?"

"Shrapnel, Kickback and Bombshell are still in stasis lock, and Ratchet's medical team is performing important repairs on their motor systems. They shouldn't be awoken before 48 hours. Their clones are guarded by a secret elite team lead by a certain Drift. I still don't have much information about him and his men."

Galvatron waved disdainfully the problem with a hand.

"That's not an issue: ask Soundwave to hack the security system and find the information."

Cyclonus raised a nervous look on his leader.

"Perhaps, should it be wiser to ask Megatron first… Soundwave won't cooperate if Megatron doesn't give his approval beforehand."

Cyclonus had a point: this would be another point to discuss with his brother, along with another important matter.

"And Scourge? Does he still feel like following me?"

That was not the first time he had to ask. Scourge had always been different from Cyclonus since the day he had hired this bounty hunter in the slum of Kaon. His faith belonged to the strongest, and if he had been punished alongside Cyclonus and himself million years ago, it was only for a mistake of his own. He hadn't been quick enough to escape Megatron's wrath.

"Well… Scourge being Scourge, and the Decepticons being successful, he is faithful to our cause for instance," Cyclonus replied with a knowing smile.

Galvatron chuckled, sharing his second's thought: Scourge was in no way reliable.

"Perfect, you can take your leave, and if you want, your day," Galvatron concluded, pointing at the exit door. "Keep your comm.-link open, anyway, just in case of emergency."

"Thank you my lord!"

Cyclonus bowed deeply and left without further words. Once he was alone, Galvatron opened his comm.-link with his elder brother, but only statics echoed in his audios.

"Brother, I know you are listening to me! Stop shagging your bird and open your comm.-link', slag it!" he growled.

"Stop being insulting and mind your language!" came the answer.

Galvatron hardly swallowed a sneer.

"Nothing hurts like the truth, hum!?"

O

This could have been a pleasant day for Cyclonus. Despite his temporary suspension, Galvatron was rather in a good mood. He was allowed to take a day off, and besides, there was no enemy attack on the way. Life seemed cheerful for a change, but… no, he had to find himself staring at those two yellow optics, with the edge of a sword dangerously pressing on his main energon supply pipe on his throat, and the femme's hand tracing lasciviously his cockpit.

"Nightbird, get out of my way!" he hissed.

"Why would I, my dear warrior?" she replied seductively. "I have a revenge to take on you!"

She hardly finished her sentence when she removed her blade from Cyclonus' neck and tried to strike him right in the head. The Decepticon was a too fine soldier to be taken aback by such a gross maneuver and blocked easily the blow by grabbing Nightbird's wrist, stopping the blade a few inches from his face.

"What do you think you're doing, you silly femme?" he barked, forcing her to step back. "I thought I had been crystal clear last time: don't step in my way anymore, or you will regret it!"

"Oh, bunny head is getting angry?" she purred and then slammed her free fist in his face. "Show me how angry you can be."

The blow was powerful enough to push Cyclonus back against the door, which creaked in protest.

O

"In a cycle, in your private quarters? Okay, I'll be on time." Galvatron replied and then chuckled lecherously. "Is it Starscream that I hear moaning through your comm.-link?"

The only answer he got was the static after Megatron cut the communication.

"Eh… Eh… You old dirty bot," Galvatron mocked. His attention was suddenly attracted by a loud bang that came from the corridor. "What the slag is this ruckus?" he groaned, not happy being disturbed during his business.

He walked to the door and soon recognized the two voices that echoed to each other: Cyclonus and Nightbird. The most interesting part was actually what the conversation was about. The vicious smirk immediately reappeared on Galvatron's face.

"Now… That's interesting!"

O

Cyclonus grunted with dissatisfaction when Nightbird managed to trip him up and pinned him audaciously over her lighter weight. It would have been easy for him to push her back, but first, he wanted to know the reason of her strange behavior.

"May I know what foolish game you are playing, earthling femme?"

"That's simple: I want something, so I came here to take it", she retorted, pressing a button at the side of her helmet to retract her face mask.

When her face was completely free of its metal shutter, she lowered her face, tracing his jaw line with sensuality. Troubled to the most, Cyclonus was unable to say he felt shocked, pleased or uncomfortable. It felt just as if his processor had been burnt during the short battle, leaving him lifeless.

"What… what are you doing?" he stuttered.

"Taking what I came for…" Nightbird retorted, sealing her lips with his own.

The shuttle former was once again unable to make a simple move, even to shut his mandeta to stop the intrusion of this glossa that explored his mouth with no shame. After an eternity, Nightbird drew back and straightened up, staring at him with a horny look in the optics.

"Beware: next time, I will want more from you," she warned, caressing gently his cheeks.

She finally stood up and ran at the other side of the corridor, leaving Cyclonus lifeless on the floor.

After long minutes, the Decepticon Air Commander managed to reclaim the command of his processor and stood up, but had to lean heavily against the wall. Slowly, anger took over him as he realized he had been dominated by a femme. An Earthling femme, to be precise, which was even worse than a Cybertronian femme!

"Next time you come and see me to play this little farce with me, Nightbird, I swear you will be nothing but scrapped metal," he swore.

"You will do nothing of that!" groaned the familiar voice of Galvatron in his audios.

The shuttle former spun around on his thrusters and stared at his commander with a miserable look.

"Lord Galvatron… I…"

"Don't lose your time asking, Cyclonus. I've seen and heard everything!" Galvatron said and then smirked. "I was also to ask you if you were making some progress to attract Nightbird into the Decepticon army, but I see that indeed, you are on the good way to making an excellent Decepticon of her."

"It is not what you think, my Lord!" Cyclonus tried to justify, obviously shared between panic and shame. "I have no intention to become intimate with this femme!"

"No… Really?" Galvatron grabbed Cyclonus by the chin and forced him to stare at him in the optics. "And I say that sometimes, it is necessary to make some sacrifice. I have the feeling that this turbo tigress has a big thing for you, and that if you give her what she wants, you will rule her with a rod of iron!"

At this stage, Cyclonus felt like the ground opened beneath his feet and the void swallowed him.

"My lord, please, don't ask me to…"

"Yes, I'm asking you to do everything necessary to enroll Nightbird in the army, even if it implies to interface with her every damn night on Earth!" Galvatron retorted. He patted Cyclonus' shoulders apologetically. "Consider the good side of this duty: she has a nice chassis!"

Galvatron gave a last maniac laugh before retreating in the meeting room, leaving Cyclonus in the corridor. Never in the past, had the Air Commander felt so beaten and humiliated, even dirty, as if he had already sinned with this ninja femme.

**

* * *

Nearby Megatron's quarters**

Galvatron was still laughing when he arrived in front of his brother's door. He had to confess that Cyclonus arousing the greed of Nightbird was very entertaining. His second in command had always lived an ascetic life, keeping his private life secret. Galvatron thought he had very few interface experiences with a femme, and was certain that this was the good opportunity for him to relax.

"Oh, this will be very fun," he chuckled before regaining his serious and beeping his elder brother. "May I enter or are you in the middle of an interface session with your bird?" he asked huskily.

"You're an idiotic moron, Galvatron!" came the answer as the door slid open on the tall frame of the Decepticon leader. "Starscream is out to visit Thundercracker."

"Annoying for you, hum?" Galvatron did not leave the time for Megatron to protest and pushed him back before shutting close the door. "So, tell me what this important matter is about… Something for the future victory and domination of the Decepticons over this base, I suppose," he pursued.

Megatron's optics flashed red, as usual when the supremacy of his army was at stake.

"I guessed it was so… By the way, you don't offer me an energon cube?" Galvatron complained, scanning the quarters in search of the bar.

"No, I would be afraid that you gatecrash the preparation of my bonding ceremony if I do so."

The crazy warlord laughed at the insult.

"As if I needed to occupy your quarters to put the mess to a bonding ceremony… I thought you knew me better." Galvatron smiled openly when Megatron looked dagger at him.

"Shut up, Galvy, and listen to me!"

Galvatron's smirk grew wider. He really liked when Megatron called him by this nickname, which he had created at the time they both battled in the arena.

"I'd like to put back online some other Decepticons," Megatron explained, watching carefully the reaction of his brother. "The conversation with Prime led me to think it was time to reinforce our troops."

Galvatron's face didn't show any surprise.

"That's something I'd like to become true, but be sure that Prime will veto this request."

"Anyway, I plan to explain him that after two battles, our men are exhausted and that if we want to beat off the Salonians in case they attack us, we need new cannon fodder," Megatron retorted, emphasizing his reasoning with large gesture. "Prime is in a weak position; he won't be able to turn me down… because he needs us to protect the base."

He fell in silence, not leaving his optics of Galvatron. His brother was deep in his thoughts, rubbing nervously his chin.

"Actually… I was to leave to the repair bay for another reason, but I planned to take the opportunity to put some pressure on Prime." His burning gaze fell on his brother's red optics. "I will ask to revive the gestalt formers in priority, because they are the fittest to battle the Super Tankers or even the Stalkers. Namely: the Constructicons and the Stunticons. The Coneheads will wait a little longer."

"I agree with you," Galvatron replied before chuckling madly. "Get Prime's approval and I will see that they become operational within 24 hours."

Megatron nodded, his facial expression soon matching Galvatron's Machiavellian smile.

**

* * *

In Thundercracker's quarters**

Starscream stepped silently in his wing mate's quarters, and understood immediately why the blue jet hadn't replied when he had opened their private comm.-link. Thundercracker was still in recharge, with the gentle humming of his main engine as the only sign of life. Starscream hesitated before seating at the edge of the berth, and finally set a hand on a blue forearm to shake the sleeping mech.

"Hey, TC… Do you feel alright?" he murmured to Thundercracker's audios.

A moan first replied to his question, and then a glimmer appeared in the Seeker's optics.

"Starscream?" he murmured, seemingly surprised to see his wing mate seated beside him. "What are you doing here?"

"I came for news. I heard that you were still convalescing and…" Starscream posed a little and then gave him a warm smile. "I was just wondering… Will you be there for the bonding ceremony tonight?"

Thundercracker nodded quietly before adding:

"Yes, of course. I do not want to miss that important moment. I am a little weak; therefore, I was planning to rest the whole day to be in top form tonight."

"Good… I am sure that Skyfire will be more than happy to come with you!" Starscream didn't add a word when he saw Thundercracker's face literally fall. "Did I say something wrong?" he worryingly asked.

"I don't want to see Skyfire anymore!" the convalescent mech retorted, hiding his optics with his hand.

"Why? He is a nice guy, though…"

"He took the decision of withdrawing from the battle without taking account of what I was thinking. He is overprotective to a point that I have the feeling to be stalked. He is too much…!"

"He is in love with you," Starscream retorted, forcing Thundercracker to withdraw his hand to look at him in the optics. "If he hadn't gotten you away from the battle, you would be as dead as a mech in the pit, TC. I actually tried to do the same with Megatron, but the old rust can refused to abandon his men. Nevertheless, I can only approve Skyfire's decision towards you."

Thundercracker sighed heavily and then shook his head as to deny Starscream's words.

"He is overconfident."

"He'd better be if he wants to seduce a Decepticon." Starscream chuckled lightly while patting Thundercracker's shoulder. "Come on, I'm sure that you wouldn't like being courted by a shy and nice Autobot."

"I don't want to be courted at all!" Thundercracker exclaimed. "And certainly not by an Autobot."

"Why not?"

Starscream knew fairly well he was forcing Thundercracker to the wall, but he didn't understand the Seeker stubbornness to reject Skyfire's advance. For him, it had been clear for many years that the blue Seeker wasn't the type of mech who could develop alone. He needed someone to draw him from his natural trend to depression and loneliness. He had first thought that Skywarp could have been the good match, but he had quickly understood that the crazy prankster was exclusively interested in femmes. Skyfire was the only candidate left, sensitive enough to cherish this special Decepticon, which way of thinking was very close to the Autobot's philosophy.

"Because I once dated a neutral," Thundercracker confessed in a broken voice.

"Ah?" Starscream hadn't seen it coming and fell in silence a long minute before finding something to say. "And what happened?"

"I entered the Decepticon army, and him, the Autobot army. One day, we crossed our paths and started battling. I had to shoot him down… in the spark; else he would have killed me."

The confession caught Starscream off guard, forcing him to keep silent. However, he couldn't abandon the idea that Skyfire was the perfect partner for Thundercracker.

"If your lover tried to kill you on the battlefield, it means he didn't really love you. Skyfire will never try to kill you now that he feels what he feels for you," Starscream assured, catching his wing mate by the chin to force his head up. "I know him well: I tried many times to shoot him down after his awakening on Earth, to kill him. He never tried to hit me lethally in response, certainly in memory of our relationship."

Thundercracker didn't say a word, taking a sad expression.

"I am afraid to take the risk of loving someone again," he finally confessed.

Starscream rubbed one of the Seeker's wing to show he understood and cared for him.

"Take the time to think about it again. You need someone by your sides, and I think that Skyfire is the right mech to lighten up your life."

Thundercracker lowered his face again, more insecure than ever.

**

* * *

In another part of the base**

Saying that Arcee was deeply disappointed by Rodimus Prime's reaction was an understatement. She understood that the management of this base was very important for the young bot, and that he was in a delicate situation because of Optimus' injuries, but she was his girlfriend, for Primus sake. Life was already difficult as they were constantly apart from each other, Rodimus in the base 0025, and Arcee in the 0023. That is why she had been so insistent on Ultra Magnus, insisting to board the Atlantis after the hard battle a week ago. All of this for what? To have Rodimus asking her to leave him alone!

"That's unfair!" she muttered, kicking a piece of metal away.

The object bounced several times on the ground before hurting the foot of another mech.

"Wow! Isn't it my dear Arcee…? What's going on? You seem to be a little gloomy…"

_This voice…_ Arcee sighed deeply, realizing she had bumped into the mech she absolutely didn't want to talk to today, or any day.

"Leave me alone, Skywarp!" she scoffed, spinning on her heels to walk in the other direction.

She groaned faintly when a strong hand grabbed her petite wrist and forced her to turn back to face him. The purple and black Seeker leaned slightly over her smaller frame, smiling gently at her.

"Where have you been all this time? I thought… no actually hopped, that you would come and congratulate me for the major part I played in the victory of the Insecticons," he boasted while drawing her closer to him. "Perhaps… you could give me a new kiss?" he ventured.

The slap that Arcee gratified him almost sent him flying against the wall. Nevertheless, he didn't wipe away his amused smile from his lips.

"Ah… I guess it means "no kiss", hum?"

Arcee flashed angrily her optics, already tightening her fist to give him a good beating.

"How can you think I'd like to give you a kiss!" she barked, walking to him with the obvious will to slap him again. "Last time, you took me off guard as the miserable, despicable, low-class, stupid, impulsive and…"

Her litany stopped when Skywarp grabbed her chin, and forcing her face up, ravished her lip component with an evident skill. Arcee pushed on his chest by reflex, but the damn Seeker was too powerful and had the cheek to envelop her with his energy field. She cursed herself when her own field almost resounded with the Jet's. To her disappointment, she finally gave up, allowing the Jet to deepen the kiss.

She had almost convinced herself that it was pleasant when Skywarp broke the kiss.

"Ah, that's better… I prefer that," he said, letting her stepping back to regain some personal space. "Actually, I was looking after you to ask you something," he informed.

Arcee kept silent, realizing with disappointment that all her systems had started to heat up consistently during the kiss.

"What is it?"

"I'd like you to come with me to Starscream and Megatron's bonding ceremony," he replied.

Arcee couldn't bite back a chuckle.

"Me, going to the two tyrant's bonding ceremony, arm in arm with one of their deadliest warriors. Are you making fun of me?"

She shivered a little when Skywarp patted her cheek. Slag it! Why couldn't she slap him in the face again?

"No, I am very serious."

"In case you forgot, I am Rodimus' girlfriend," she retorted, hanging to her last will to escape from his attraction.

Attraction? No, she couldn't find him attractive, could she?

Her trouble deepened where Skywarp laughed amusedly and then turned his head from right to left, folding his fingers before one of his optics, mimicking a captain roaming the horizon with a field glass.

"Rodimus? Where is Rodimus? I don't see him around…," he mocked, stopping only when Arcee forced his hand down. "Come on, Arcee… He's not by your side. Everybody here knows that his only obsession is to serve Optimus Prime and stop the progress of our leader, Megatron. While, on the other hand…" He lowered his face as to kiss her, but stop as she held a hand. "I am not a bot interested in power… I just want to have fun in my life and live interesting experiences. That's all."

Arcee stepped back, and to her greatest trouble, she found him touchingly sincere.

"You're lying… All Decepticons are interested in power."

"Well, I must be the exception. I am only a prankster, some of my fellows Decepticons say that I am stupid – and I guess they are right," he insisted and laughed. "You know, there is an old human expression: Carpe Diem. I found stupid at the beginning to like an earthling adage, but it describes exactly how I see life."

"I don't understand the meaning of _Carpe Diem_."

"Then… try to search, and I am sure that you will understand many things about me."

Arcee stepped back, definitely not understanding what he meant. She decided that the better course of action was to leave… actually to run away. What she did.

"Hey, so… does it mean you're coming tonight?" she heard.

"Don't count on that!"

Actually, she had no idea of what she would do.

**

* * *

Ratchet's med bay**

Megatron entered the place with an air of determination, spotting immediately the large frame of his Nemesis. He still remembered their last conversation, and how much he had found Optimus Prime irritating and aggressive. What had the Autobot leader thought? That he could defy him on his own field. It was time for Megatron to set the clock right again.

"Greetings, Prime. I hope you feel well today."

"Spare me the small talk," Optimus Prime retorted of a sepulchral voice. "What do you want?"

"Straightforward as usual, hum?" Megatron commented, obviously amused. "Fair enough, I am going straight to the point: I want to revive the rest of the Decepticons, giving the priority to the combiners, the Constructicons and the Stunticons."

"It is out of question!"

The reply of the Autobot leader cracked like a whip. However, Megatron refused to give way to pessimism.

"I was sure you would say that. But, you see, Prime, you don't have any other choice but to take heed of my request, and accept it."

Optimus Prime set on his optics and turned his mask face to look at Megatron in the optics.

"And why would I do that? I perfectly see what you want to do: gather your men to take slowly control of the base. I won't let you do so."

The Decepticon leader chuckled: Optimus knew him well and was reading his thoughts like an open book.

"Is it really a bad thing? Face the reality, Prime: I am now the only bot who can lead this base to freedom." He leaned over the still body of his old enemy. "You fought hard all these past years, but you're worn out by too many harassing battles."

"You're wrong, Megatron. I am still capable of leading this base…"

"No, you're not anymore. Look at you, Prime: you've been shot down by the Insecticons because you were not able to see they had led you into a trap, and now, you're rooted to this berth. Your time is over: give me the reins of this base, and I will stop this war."

Megatron straightened up, awaiting a reply from the Autobot. Optimus Prime kept his optics fisted on him, certainly sorting out what he would say.

"If I did so, what guarantees me that you won't turn against the Autobots?" he asked.

"I need the Autobots as much as I need the Decepticons," Megatron immediately replied. "I might disregard your men, but I am not fully stupid: we are too few, survivors of a destroyed world, hanging to the edge of a precipice. I need the support of everybody if I want to push back the Empire of Salonia."

New silence, during which Megatron thought he could hear Optimus Prime's clicking.

"You're an excellent speaker, Megatron, but I know you too well, and I need evidence of your good will," Prime finally said. "I am going to grant you the right to revive the Constructicons only. If things go well, and by this, I mean no rebellion of the Constructicons or an attempt to a coup from you, I might consider reviving the others."

Megatron let out an angry growl.

"It is unacceptable: I need all the Decepticons back!" he snarled.

"That's the only deal that I am ready to offer: take it or leave it!"

The optics of the Decepticon leader lashed angrily as he clenched his fist, feeling a terrible urge to smash Prime's face. He calmed down, aware that such an action would compromise his credibility in this base.

"Fair enough, we have a deal," he conceded, mumbling through clenched mandeta.

"Good. I will inform Jazz and Shockwave of this decision," Optimus Prime added and then powered down his optics. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to take some rest."

A new urge of killing the Autobot leader washed through Megatron: how dare Prime speak to him like he was his subordinate?

"The conversation is not over Prime. I'll come back" he finally spat before walking away from the berth.

O

Optimus Prime felt relief when Megatron's heavy footsteps died away. In his weak condition, holding out against Megatron was harassing and consumed all his remaining strength. However, he had no choice but to curb the Decepticon leader's ambition. Even if Optimus Prime was the first one to recognize that his old nemesis has changed for good, he couldn't help but mistrust Megatron. Without him, the base 0025 would have fallen a long time ago: but with him, the situation could worsen.

No matter what, he had to recover quickly to be able to stop Megatron if needed.

O

Megatron growled irritably before opening his comm.-link. Not only he hadn't got what he wanted from Prime, but the Autobot leader had shown an incredible resoluteness to curb his rise to power. Perhaps, he had bet on Prime's demise too quickly. "Don't count your chickens before they're hatched," he thought bitterly.

_ So… Did you get what you wanted?_ Galvatron asked.

"No, not completely. The old lion is still sharp enough to throw a wrench in my plan. We can wake up the Constructicons, but no more."

_ Ah, Ah… What did you think? The only way to subdue Optimus Prime would be to kill him!_

"That's not the solution for instant," Megatron retorted. "The Autobots are grateful for us for protecting the base, but they are not ready to follow my guidance. I suppose I have to convince Prime of my good will."

_ Goodwill… You know, brother, this word has a hollow ring when speaking about you… Mwaah! _

"Silence, idiot! Keep your stupid jokes for yourself," Megatron retorted, definitely ill-tempered. "And now listen: go and see Shockwave, and insist that the Constructicons must be awakened within the day. I'll inform Ratchet about this urgent operation."

_Eh Eh… consider it as already done, brother. Galvatron out. _

Megatron growled as he closed the comm.-link and felt a little calmer that a few minutes before. He knew he could count on his brother to have the five Constructicons back online before his bonding ceremony.

"Speaking about that…"

Despite his discussion with Optimus Prime, he shouldn't forget that he had come for a very precise purpose: the operation on his spark interface component. Ratchet had refused to perform it the day before and had asked him to come to his private laboratory for the repair once the preparations were completed.

O

The CMO was waiting for him, with all his medical instruments ready when Megatron entered the laboratory. He made a sweep of the place, noticing with a certain nervousness the welding machine hanged to the edge of the berth. He assumed that Ratchet would use this to weld the component to the side of his spark casing, as to hide that he had been once removed, and felt a little anxious at the idea of such a dangerous thing approaching his spark.

"Are you still decided to have this operation performed on you?" Ratchet insisted. "It is still time to change your mind and speak with Starscream."

"I have no intention to get out of it," Megatron replied as he walked to the berth and hoisted himself on top. "Do what I asked."

The CMO sighed deeply and then leaned over Megatron.

"I warn you: I still think this is a big mistake. Once Starscream and you will have exchanged your respective spark interface components, it will be impossible to hide your smallest thought to your bond mate. You will be fully interfaced with him. The risk that he detects the presence of your first bond mate is very high. You…"

"Stop lecturing me, Ratchet. Do what I asked!" Megatron groaned, pushing back the medic as a warning. "Now!" he added threateningly.

Ratchet straightened up and glared at him with a cold look in the optics.

"Very well, I'll do it. Nevertheless, don't complain if Starscream discovers the hoax. I warned you."

**To be continued**


End file.
